Forever
by Julia Claire
Summary: My version on how Angelina and the twins became friends, and Angelina went to the Yule Ball with Fred, but ended up with George. I own nothing. PERMANENT HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I only do this for fun!

Forever

Chapter 1

I sat, looking out the train window, onto Platform 9 ¾. My trunk was packed, I was wearing my new Hogwarts robes, and I was all ready for my very first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'd already said goodbye to my own parents, but, as they'd had to rush off to work, I was left to watching other children say their goodbyes. Frankly, it was pretty boring, until one family arrived. They caught my notice the second they stepped on the platform, as it was pretty hard to miss seven flaming red heads. There were five boys and one girl, all accompanied by their mother, who, although short, looked like someone you wouldn't want to cross. The four oldest boys all had trunks, but the youngest two didn't look old enough to be going to Hogwarts yet.

"It seems odd without Bill here," one of the older boys remarked.

"Yes," his mother agreed, and then turned to two of her other sons, who had to be twins, for they looked exactly alike. "Now, I don't want one lick of trouble out of you two," she said menacingly. "You'll have to go seven years at this place, with the same teachers all the way through, so for goodness sake; please don't make a bad impression the moment you walk through the doors."

"Don't worry, Mother," said the twins' older brother. "I'll make sure they behave."

"Oh, no," said one of the twins. "With Percy on us-"

"We won't get away with anything," finished his twin.

"Because, I mean, we've always minded him so well at home," said the first boy, rolling his eyes.

"With Mum to back him up,"

"So without Mum-"

"We're out of luck."

The boy called Percy scowled. I giggled.

Their mother said, "I'm serious, boys."

"So are we," one of the twins muttered.

"Be quiet, now. One toe out of line, and I'll-"

But at that moment, her oldest son interrupted her, "Mum, the train is set to leave soon. We'd best get on."

"Oh, yes, dear, you're quite right," the woman said, as she began hugging and kissing her four school-age sons at random and even accidentally catching her youngest son, who protested loudly.

"Mummy," said the girl, tugging on her mother's sleeve, "Can't I please go?"

"I've told you, Ginny," said her mom, watching her four sons walk away. "You're too young."

The youngest boy rolled his eyes at his sister's question, but as he watched the train pull away, his eyes were filled with longing.

****

The red-haired twins chose seats in the compartment behind me along with a boy with dreadlocks, while their older brothers went farther back. I didn't pay much attention to them after that, because another first-year girl had taken the seat next to me. Her name was Alicia Spinnet, and she had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She talked very fast and loved Quidditch as much as I did. It was a lot of fun talking to her, but I should have been paying more attention to the compartment behind me, and, more specifically, three trouble-rousing boys.

Alicia and I were in the middle of discussing which school house we wanted to be placed in (we both hoped to be in Gryffindor), when a bucket of purple potion was dumped on us. We shrieked as our robes and faces, and my long hair, was covered a jelly-like potion. I heard laughter behind me, and turned to see the twins and the boy with dreadlocks. It seemed they'd sneaked into the doorway, and levitated the bucket above us. The three other girls who had occupied our compartment had just left to find the bathroom, which left us the sole occupants of the compartment, and, apparently, the perfect targets.

As I turned towards them, they started laughing even harder. I supposed I did look pretty funny, but I was too angry to even consider the humour in the situation. It was going to take forever to get the- Merlin, I didn't even know what it was- out of my long black plait. Soon, I'd have to be Sorted, and I couldn't help but think that the only place they'd put me in was back on the train. Then, with a smile that probably made me look as if I was completely crazy (and maybe I was), I thought of a way to get some of the Merlin-knows-what out of my hair a whole lot quicker.

One of the twins pulled himself together enough to tell me, "Look, we'll help you clean up, okay? We were just messing around with our potion ingredients, and Lee had some purple dye, and it was too gross not to use," he grinned. "You have to admit- you look pretty funny."

Now, I probably shouldn't have done what I did. I could have just gotten a prefect or something. Revenge probably wasn't the way to go on my first day of term, but I was too damn mad to do anything else. I grabbed the top of my braid, and hit each of them once across the chest- not that hard, but hard enough- splattering them with purple potion. They weren't nearly as messy as Alicia and me, but, again, it was enough. Immediately, they stopped laughing at me. Their expressions of sheer surprise made _me _want to giggle, but suddenly, I was regretting what I'd done. If I made enemies with these pranksters, they could make my life a living hell.

Fortunately, as I would learn later, the Weasley twins were always the first to laugh at themselves. Catching a glimpse of each other, they busted up. Relieved, I started chuckling, suddenly aware of how stupid we must all look. The boy with dreadlocks guffawed, and Alicia, as she made her way over to stand beside me, giggled.

One of the twins stuck out his hand. "Fred Weasley. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." I wiped my hand on my robes (I'd have to clean them anyway) and shook it.

For some reason, this made us all snigger more.

"I'm George," said the other red-head, "And this is Lee Jordan."

"I'm Alicia Spinnet," the girl beside me said, composing herself and giving the boys a little glare, which changed into a reluctant smile again when Fred complimented her hair, which had huge purple globs in it.

Trying to wipe some of it off, she asked, "Are you two twins?"

"Are we?" Fred said, feigning surprise.

"I hadn't realized," said George, pretending to frown as he studied his twin. "I reckon maybe we are."

"Thanks so much for that astute discovery," Fred told Alicia seriously. She laughed again.

"And our wonderful new stylist is…" George prompted me.

"I'm Angelina. Angelina Johnson," I said. "And the pleasure is all mine."

We ended up having to ask the twins' older brother Charlie to clean the purple glop off with magic because water wouldn't suffice. We made laughingstocks of ourselves by parading around the corridors in, as the twins said, "the newest fashions" trying to find Charlie. We all got yelled at by another Weasley brother, Percy, but in my mind, the whole horrifying episode was completely worth it. I'm sure my life would have been so much more boring if I hadn't become friends with the Weasley twins that day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Quidditch tryouts are next Wednesday," Fred Weasley said, sitting down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, next to Lee and Alicia. George and I were sitting across from them.

"Excellent," I said wearily, "But I have this weird feeling of déjà vu. I think you might have told me that once or twice or maybe _fifty _times before."

He laughed, not at all self-conscious or embarrassed. But that was Fred for you. Even though I often wanted to kill him and his twin (and sometimes even Lee), I had to admit that I'd become best friends with all three boys and Alicia since we'd met, for lack of a better word, on the Hogwarts Express. We were now just beginning our second year, and Fred and George were obsessed with being Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"And now," I continued sarcastically, "Let's continue to discuss all the open positions, as well as who is trying out, because we haven't had that discussion enough."

We all laughed, but then proceeded, after a few minutes, to have the discussion that I had just mentioned.

"Okay, so obviously," George said, pausing to take a bite of his lunch, "Charlie's the Gryffindor Seeker, because he's the Captain."

"And Oliver Wood has been Keeper since he was in second year, so he'll be on the team again," Lee added.

"Two of the Chasers last year have left," I said, rolling my eyes that I was again sucked into the discussion. "Do you think the remaining one, Sarah, Byrd, is guaranteed a spot? She made it for the first time last year, but she's a seventh year now…."

Fred answered, "Yeah, she's decent enough, a returning player, and a seventh year. I bet she'll make it."

"So that leaves two-"

"Possibly three," Lee interrupted.

"Chaser spots, and two Beater spots," I finished, looking at Lee. We really had had this conversation way too many times.

"Well, the Beater spots aren't really open," Fred said smugly.

"They're ours for sure," added his twins.

"Yeah, right," Alicia said, "But you've got the modesty awards locked down either way."

"It is modest, if you're that good," said Fred.

"No, it isn't," Lee retorted, laughing.

"Come on, guys," Alicia told them seriously. "What makes you so sure you're going to make it? You're second years."

"Hmmm, let's think," George answered sarcastically, tapping a finger on his chin. "First of all, the Beaters from last year have both left."

"And second, we've been playing with our older, bigger brothers for years," Fred added. "Thirdly, we're just naturally likable."

Alicia, Lee, and I snorted at this.

"And finally," George said, ignoring us, "the Captain of the team is…"

"OUR OLDER BROTHER!" the twins said together loudly.

I rolled my eyes. "Actually, I think that last one would decrease your chances, because, being your brother, Charlie knows what absolute gits the two of you are."

We all laughed at that one, but Fred and George laughed the hardest.

When the laughter had died down, Lee asked Alicia and me, "Have you two decided whether to try out or not?"

"I definitely am, now that Mum has sent me a decent broom," I said. "I might have a chance with two spots open for Chaser."

"Unfortunately for you, Ange," Fred told me, "We've told Charlie how very annoying you are."

I made a face at him.

Ignoring this, Alicia told Lee, "Yeah, I suppose I will, though I don't expect to make it, not in my second year. Are you?"

"I will, just for the fun of it. Snape will use conditioner, though, before I make the Quidditch team."

We all laughed again, and then headed out of the Great Hall for our next classes.

****

On Thursday, one of the Weasley twins tapped me on the shoulder. I had been working in the common room."Charlie is posting the names of the new members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team now," he told me. "Let's go."

I grabbed my stuff and walked down the hallway with him. "Charlie didn't already tell you if you and Fred made it or not?" I asked and then added. "Where is Fred, anyway?"

"All Charlie'd tell us was that he was posting the results today, right before lunch, the git" George answered. "And Fred went to find Alicia and Lee in the library." He looked at me, bemused. "How can you always tell Fred and me apart? I barely said a thing."

I shrugged. Alicia, Lee and I could all tell them apart, although I was best at it. Fred and George always seemed surprised at this, probably because most students didn't even bother to try to tell the difference between them. They were identical down to the freckle, and they were always together anyway. What was the point? Actually, I couldn't tell them apart just by appearance, either. I could only tell the difference if they talked. Luckily, however, they never shut their mouths. "I don't know," I said. "You two are so different, that whenever you talk, I can just tell. I can't exactly explain why."

He looked at me again, eyebrows furrowed. "We're not that different."

"Yes, you are," I said simply.

Fred was the leader of the two; he was slightly funnier, but he could also be slightly meaner. George was gentler. I didn't like one more than the other, but they were not even close to be the same person, as many people seemed to think.

George shook his head. "Whatever. Now, come on, Angelina, let's hurry up!"

As Fred and George had suspected, Wood and Sarah had made the team again, as Keeper and Chaser, respectively. Fred and George had made it as well, as I knew they would, not because their brother was Captain, but because they were actually pretty good. Anna Werlin and I completed the team as Chasers. Alicia only made it as a reserve Chaser, but got to play in one match when Anna got hurt. Lee didn't come even close to making it, as he had predicted, but he made so many jokes about Quidditch while we were flying in tryouts, Charlie asked McGonagall to make him the commentator for the matches. We got flattened, mostly, that year, but it was still fun. With Fred and George Weasley, how could anything not be?

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I bit into my steak, waiting for Alicia and the boys to come to the Great Hall for dinner. Actually, I was mostly waiting for Alicia, because she alone of my four friends would understand what I was feeling- excitement and nervousness. It was early December in my sixth year at Hogwarts, midway through the Triwizard Tournament. I was dying to talk about, well, what every other girl above fourth year at Hogwarts was dying to talk about: the Yule Ball.

For once, I was actually on the same page as the rest of the girls in my year. It had been a bit since that happened, especially since most of the gossip this year had been about Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum. I never understood what so many girls saw in Diggory and Krum. Okay, perhaps I was a bit biased against Cedric, because his Quidditch team, Hufflepuff, had beaten us last year. He was incredibly handsome, I had to admit, but I didn't see anything else about him that was special. And while Viktor Krum is the most amazing Seeker I have ever seen (the World Cup was fantastic) he didn't have any personality, and wasn't even handsome. I guess they both must be brave, being Triwizard champions, but I don't know. They weren't guys that I would even have a crush on, let alone follow around and gossip about all the time. I guess most of them only liked Cedric for his face and Viktor for his fame. I just didn't understand it. I could never like a boy romantically who lacked personality or a funny bone. I blushed at my own thought. Another reason I couldn't wait for Alicia to get here, although I probably couldn't discuss it in the Great Hall. Where was she????

As if in answer to my thought, I heard an, "Ange!" from behind me, and turned to face Alicia. She took the seat next to me, and the twins and Lee Jordan, who had been right behind her, took seats across from us. She grabbed some steak and bread as she started talking about the Yule Ball. Alicia already talks about two times as fast as a normal person, but when she is excited or nervous, she talks even faster. She does it before Quidditch matches, and she was doing it now. I think she may have exceeded the speed of light on a few occasions, this being one of them. I could just barely keep up, but Fred, George, and Lee could only snigger at her as they loaded their plates fit to bursting.

"Oh my gosh! Can you believe it? A ball! Do you know what you're going to wear? Oh! We should have guessed there would be a ball, when it said dress robes on our supply lists. My dress robes are light blue. I'll show you after dinner. What are you wearing? And, oh my gosh, what about partners?" She stopped there, glancing as the boys, realizing she didn't want to talk about that in front of them. Honestly, though, I really don't think they could have understood her if she had. She took several deep breathes, and I realized she hadn't breathed the whole time she'd been talking.

"Can you talk just a bit faster?" asked Fred, laughing.

"How in the name of Merlin could anyone make sense of-" George began, but, rolling my eyes, I cut him off.

"Yeah, I know, I'm really excited too. I can't wait to see you outfit. We should've guessed when it said dress robes on our list. My dress robes are light purple. I'll show them to you after dinner too," I said. Lee, Fred, and George stared at me in astonishment.

Finally, Lee said, "How in the name of Merlin could you make sense of that?"

Alicia and I laughed and high-fived. "Years of practice."

Lee shook his head. "Girls," he muttered.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. Alicia had apparently said all she wanted to, at least for now, and the rest of us were starving.

After he'd finished his steak, Fred said, "I have to say, I'm glad Ron is friends with Harry again, instead of hanging around with us. He can be such a git."

"He's okay sometimes," George said fairly.

"He's okay; I like him fine," I said. Ron could be rather funny occasionally. "He can be very immature, though." I sighed as I realized who I was talking to.

"Hey, Ange," Alicia said, in a slower voice that was still fast. "Do you reckon Ron will ask Granger to the Yule Ball?"

I frowned. "I don't kn-"

"What?" Fred said.

"Ron and _Hermione_?" Fred said, confused.

Alicia sighed. "Honestly, how could you guys not see it? Obviously they like each other."

I giggled. "Even if they don't know it yet."

"But how can you tell?" Lee asked, confused as well.

"How can you not?" I answered, then looked at Alicia for help. She shrugged. "I don't know. They're always arguing-"

"Exactly," interrupted George.

"Which is one sign," I finished, looking at him. "But he's too immature to know that he likes her, so he probably won't ask her. And she's too proud to ask him."

Alicia was nodding, but the boys still looked confused.

"Girls," Lee muttered again.

"Boys," Alicia muttered back, rolling her eyes.

"So who are you planning to ask to the Ball?" I said, addressing all the boys, but I really only wanted Fred's answer.

Fred sat back, having just finished his dessert. "George and I are just going to wait for the girls to throw themselves at us."

Not exactly the response I'd been hoping for, but I don't know what I wanted him to say, here and now.

"What about me?" Lee asked Fred, but it was George who answered.

"We might be able to set you up with Mrs. Norris, Lee, but only if you're nice to us."

We left the Great Hall laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So," Alicia said after we'd finished showing each other our dress robes, "Who are you hoping will ask you to the Yule Ball? Or are you planning to ask him?"

I sighed. "There's no way I can ask him. I'm afraid he'll think it's a joke."

"Him?" she raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"You tell me first," I grinned.

She rolled her eyes, and then compromised. "Together?"

I nodded.

"Okay, on the count of three: one, two, three-"

Alicia said something, but it was too fast and too quiet for me to understand. "What?" I asked.

"No fair!" she said, pretending to be angry. "You agreed we'd say it together."

"Yeah, say it comprehensively together, not at the speed of light!" I retorted.

"Okay, fine, let's try it again: one, two, three-"

"Eric Hale," Alicia said, naming a Ravenclaw sixth year. He was smart, nice enough, and cute, but he wasn't exactly someone I thought she would go for. He was a bit boring. I wasn't that surprised though. I'd noticed how she looked at him in classes (and, actually, he probably had too), but we hadn't discussed it.

"Fred Weasley," I blushed. I didn't know how it had happened, but about a month ago, I'd realized that I had feelings for the idiot.

"I knew it!" she shrieked. "For a bit, I couldn't tell which of the twins you liked, but then- I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"You didn't tell me about Hale," I retorted. "I didn't want you to think I was messing up the group or something, and I was so scared Fred was going to find out…. How did you know, anyway? Was I that obvious?"

"No, I just know you really well," she looked at me. "Don't worry; he's way too thick-headed to have noticed you like him as way more than a friend." She shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know what you see in him."

I threw a pillow at her. Giggling, she said, "Just kidding, Ange. Actually, I think you have a pretty good shot of getting to go with who you want because-"

I groaned, cutting her off. "Oh, please don't say I have twice the chances of being asked by the person I want because Fred is a twin. They're not the same person, and I want to go with Fred- not George."

"I know, Angelina," she said, really angry this time. "They're my friends, too. And that's not even what I was going to say!"

"Sorry," I muttered, embarrassed.

"It's okay," Alicia smiled again. "Actually, what I was going to say was that I think that he likes you, so he'll probably ask you."

"Really?" I asked, excited. "How do you know?"

Well, I'm not sure. That's why I didn't say anything, but I think…." She trailed off, thinking.

"Do you think Eric will ask you?" I was suddenly embarrassed by the whole topic and wanted to change the subject.

"I have no idea. I hope he does," she stopped talking as two of our roommates, Elizabeth and Maya, entered the room. They also stopped talking abruptly.

"Night, Alicia," I said, crawling into bed. "You know, the Yule Ball could be a lot of fun, or a lot of trouble."

"Yep," she said sleepily.

Then again, it would probably be both if Fred did ask me.

I really hoped he would.

****

I was sitting in the common room near the fireplace a few days later working on a Charms essay when Alicia came running towards me. She had run to the library to look up something quickly, but obviously, something else had happened. She looked elated.

"Omygoshangueswhat?" she said to me as she sat down, so fast that even I couldn't understand her.

"Jeez, slow down, take a deep breath, and then tell me what happened," I laughed, but she couldn't wait. Slowing down fractionally, she said, "I saw Eric in the library and we were talking and he asked me to the Yule Ball!"

"Oh my gosh," I said, almost as excited as she was, "That's fantastic!"

She nodded, then proceeded to tell me every detail of their conversation. I was genuinely happy for her, even though Eric wasn't my favorite person. However, hearing her talk about Eric asking her made me think a lot about Fred and how he hadn't asked me. As if she could hear my thoughts, when she finished talking about Eric, Alicia asked, "What about Fred? You think he'll ask you soon?"

I sighed, "Probably not. I mean, we were alone at the end of Transfiguration today- even George wasn't there- and the only thing he said was making fun of McGonagall." It had been pretty funny, but not what I had wanted from him just then.

"Well, it is Fred Weasley we're talking about," Alicia said, trying to cheer me up. "You know he wouldn't hesitate about asking you the Yule Ball in front the entire school if he wanted to."

"I know, but I've been in the Great Hall and in classes with him, and he hasn't asked me," I sighed again. "I just have to forget about it. He isn't going to ask me."

"He might," Alicia was trying to cheer me.

I shook my head, adamant, and then changed the subject abruptly. "McGonagall has given us loads of homework lately. Right before Christmas too."

Alicia took the hint and said nothing more about Fred. We spent the next fifteen minutes talking about teachers and writing our Charms essays. Alicia was in the middle of heavily abusing Snape when from the other side of the common room I heard an, "Oi! Angelina!"

It was Fred. I could just tell. I immediately thought he was going to ask me, and then tried to convince myself he wouldn't so I wouldn't be disappointed when he didn't.

"What?" I called back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

It was exactly what I wanted to hear, and yet, suddenly, I was scared he was joking. I studied his face for a minute, giving him an appraising sort of look, and then detected the tiniest bit of nervousness in his face. He was serious.

"All right then," I called again, then carried on chatting with Alicia. I was trying to play it cool, but I couldn't entirely hide the grin that was bursting to explode all over my face.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alicia and I were making our way down to breakfast the next morning, a sunny Saturday, when we hailed by two fifth year girls.

"Oi, Angelina, Alicia, over here!" Katie Bell called brightly from over by the fireplace. She was sitting in one of the best armchairs, next to a girl called Leanne.

"Hey, Katie," I called back, making my way over to sit next to her.

Alicia and I had become friends with Katie in our third year, when we were all on the Quidditch team together for the first time. I often thought it was ironic that she had long bright red curls, because her personality was anything but fiery or loud. She was quiet, modest, and hard-working. I liked her a lot, but we weren't close, as I hardly ever saw her off the Quidditch pitch. She and Leanne, an extremely shy girl with short black hair, were very good friends.

"What's up?" Alicia asked, sitting beside Leanne.

"Nothing much," Katie answered. "I just wanted to chat. It has been ages since I talked to you two."

"Yeah, well, without Quidditch," Alicia said.

"I know," I sighed. "I hate not playing this year."

Alicia giggled. "Can you imagine if Wood was here? He'd start a boycott of the school or something."

"Burn the castle in protest," I said. "Then, if he got Quidditch to come back, he'd kidnap Krum and force him to play with us." We all laughed, but Katie had an odd look, almost like longing, in her eyes. It made me laugh harder to realize why.

When we had all sobered, Alicia asked, "So, have you two got dates for the Yule Ball yet?"

Leanne nodded, but Katie shook her head.

"Still stuck on a certain Quidditch Captain?" Alicia teased her.

Katie stuck out her tongue at her.

Alicia laughed. "Do that all you want, but notice how you didn't even deny it."

Katie had been completely in love with Oliver Wood since the middle of her fourth year. I don't think he registers anything that doesn't have to do with Quidditch, though, so he didn't notice. Fred, George, and Harry seemed clueless too, but Alicia and I hadn't missed the looks she had given him in practices.

I shook my head. "Jeez! How can you have a crush on someone as egotistical and Quidditch obsessed as Oliver Wood? He's a total blockhead!"

"Says the girl who's going with _Fred Weasley_ to the Yule Ball. He's a blockhead if ever I saw one," Katie retorted. She had evidently been in the Gryffindor common room last night.

I stuck my tongue out at her, trying not to laugh.

"Do that all you want," Katie said, imitating Alicia, "But notice how you didn't even deny it."

I burst out laughing, along with the other three of them, but I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.

"Jeez, Katie," I said finally, composing myself.

"What?" she asked confusedly.

"It's just- I've never seen you so hyper. You're so funny today. The fiery red-head is really showing through," I joked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. On the Quidditch pitch, I guess I'm more concentrated-"

"On Oliver or the Quaffle?" Alicia snickered, earning a dirty look from Katie.

"And sometimes, with a lot of people around, I'm almost as shy as Leanne," Katie continued. "Now, it's almost the Christmas holidays, and I've really missed you guys." She shrugged. "This is the me Leanne normally has to put up with."

"Yeah, but you're even more giddy now because we were just talking about _Oliver_," Leanne muttered, saying the name with false reverence.

All four of us busted up at that. The fact that Leanne had said it made it even funnier. I'd barely heard Leanne mutter two sentences before, and now she had just made a joke? Katie said that she talked a lot more when she got comfortable with people.

Eventually, we all composed ourselves. "So," Alicia said to Leanne, "You said you've got a date for the ball? Who are you going with?"

"Thomas Moore," Leanne answered quietly.

"He's almost as quiet as she is," Katie interjected. "They'll be the quietest couple ever." Leanne playfully pushed her.

"What about you, Alicia?" Katie asked. "Who are you going with?"

"I'm going with Eric Hale," she answered.

"I don't know him," Katie said. "What's he like?"

At that moment, however, we were interrupted by Lee Jordan.

"Alicia!" he called from across the common room, and then he started to make his way toward us.

"Hey, Lee," she called back.

Katie and I said hello as well, but he just nodded.

"That's weird," I said.

"What?" Katie asked.

"He looks so nervous."

"Just a little."

"Yeah, but Lee never gets nervous, or… emotional… at all. Even when he does, he doesn't show it," I whispered.

"I don't know him much. He never seemed deadpan to me before though," she said, looking at him.

"He's not deadpan, he's just always happy, always laughing," I chuckled as I remembered something. "The morning before our first O.W.L.- the Charms Theory- Alicia was sitting at breakfast, firing off questions without waiting for an answer, I was speed-reading my Charms notes, and even the twins were cracking a lot of really bad jokes out of nerves, but Lee was just sitting there, calmly eating his breakfast, and laughing at all of us." I looked at her. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Katie nodded.

Next to us, Alicia was telling Leanne every detail of how Eric had asked her to the ball.

"She's been dying to tell someone else the whole story," I muttered.

"Yeah, and Leanne makes a great listener," Katie snickered.

Lee had finally made his way over to us. His face flushed, he started, "Alicia, I really need to talk-" He broke off as he heard what Alicia had just said.

"-and then, he asked me if I'd like to come with him to the Yule Ball, so, of course, I said yes, and-"

"What? Said yes to whom?" Lee said angrily, almost accusingly.

Alicia broke off, realizing for the first time that Lee was there. "Oh, uh, Eric Hale," she said.

All the sudden, Lee seemed to change from the happy, funny boy I'd always known, to an angry monster. "You're going with ERIC HALE! He's a total JERK! I can't believe you're going with- you deserve each other! Hale!" he spat loudly, almost yelling. Kids in the common room all turned to look as he stalked away back to the boys' dormitories.

Alicia looked around, upset. "What in the name of Merlin was that about?"

I shrugged, troubled. "He's not acting at like himself. I have no idea."

However, as a sudden thought struck me, I gave a start. Suddenly, I realized that my last statement might not be quite true….

* * *

_Hey all,_

_Hope you all liked this chapter. Katie Bell isn't mentioned a lot in the books, so I kind of made up my own Katie- I have no idea if she really has red hair or not... I know Leanne talks a lot more in the books in the one chapter she's in, but she's hysterical, so I kind of figured she'd talk more then, especially to say what had happened to Katie. A few of the reviewers thought I was rushing through a bit too much, sorry about that. I just wanted to show how they became friends a bit before all the romantic craziness stuff happened. I'm slowing down now, although I can't promise I won't skip a few more years. Actually, in my original plan for this fic, the Yule Ball was going to be over by the third chapter, bur I'm obviously not following that plan anymore.... Please review! Thanks!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Could it possibly be true? I couldn't think of any other reason Lee would get so upset over Alicia going with Eric Hale. Unless Lee knew Eric was a murderer or something, but that seemed doubtful at best. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I was right. Lee must have a crush- a major one, it seemed like, on Alicia. I'd never seen a sign of it, but perhaps that was just because Lee almost always wore the same expression- happy and complacent. I turned to Alicia, waiting to see if she'd drawn the same conclusion, but she looked as confused as before. The Weasley twins entered the common room before I could decide whether or not I should say something.

"Hey, all," Fred called, as he and George made their way over to the chairs where Alicia, Katie, Leanne, and I were sitting. My heart beat slightly faster at the sound of his voice.

"Where were you two and Lee at breakfast?" George asked. He was looking at me almost sadly, but I was too wrapped up in thinking about Lee's outburst to really notice it. "Did you already eat, before us? Because if you didn't, it'll probably be gone soon."

Katie jumped up. "C'mon, Leanne, we'd better go eat; I'm starved." She turned to Alicia and me. "Are you two coming?"

Alicia shook her head.

"No," I answered. "I haven't eaten yet, but I want to talk to the twins for a bit first. See you later."

"Bye, then," Katie said. Leanne smiled at us as they walked away.

I turned to Fred and George."Did you hear Lee screaming just now?"

"That was _Lee_?" George asked, incredulous. "We could hear him all the way down the corridor, but we couldn't quite make out the words. We thought it was whoever had eaten the T-" He stopped in mid sentence with a slightly guilty look at Fred.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't bother to ask where they'd planted the Ton-Tongue Toffees. I'd find out soon enough, when some git was stupid enough to eat something lying around Gryffindor Tower. I'd already learned my lesson on the first day of term, when I'd accepted candy from Fred. Madam Pomfrey had not been pleased.

"Wait," George began, "He _didn't _eat anything, uh, funny, did he?"

"No," answered Alicia. "He got angry at me."

"Lee did?" asked Fred, surprised. "Blimey, I don't think I've ever heard him yell like that- not even at Quidditch matches."

The one thing Lee did get a bit riled was Quidditch, but then, everyone over got riled over Quidditch.

"What happened?" George asked.

Alicia shrugged. "Nothing, really, I don't know why he went off like that. I was talking to Leanne about who asked me to the Yule Ball, and Lee overheard me say that I was going with someone. Lee asked me who it was, and I said it was Eric Hale. Then, he got all mad, and started yelling. He said that Hale was a jerk and that we deserved each other." She all of this flatly, but I could tell she was upset.

"You're going with _Eric Hale_?" Fred asked, shooting a dark look at George.

"What?" I asked.

"Well," George began, "I don't know why Lee was yelling like that over that, but-"

"Hale is a bit of an idiot," Fred said flatly.

I could tell Alicia was getting less and less upset, and more and more angry. Trying to head off an argument, I said, "Okay, maybe he's a bit of an idiot, but he seems nice to me, really smart-" Hale wasn't my favorite person, but that was only because he was a bit boring and not funny at all.

George shook his head disgustedly. "That's just how he acts around people he wants to impress. He's a total suck-up. Around professors, older students, and cute," here he shot another odd glance at me, "Girls, he's the nicest bloke around, but when no one he cares about is watching him-"

"I've seen him bullying younger students, stealing things and the like. His best mate, that big bloke, Mason, does it too," Fred put in, with an uncharacteristically angry look on his face.

"He uses people all the time, to get help with homework, or more friends or whatever," George said.

I felt slightly sick. Lee saying Hale was a jerk was one thing; if he was jealous of Eric, he'd have a reason. The twins saying Eric was a bully and a suck-up was quite another. I was too upset about this new development on Eric to be flattered that Alicia and I had apparently both been branded as "cute girls."

Alicia didn't appear flattered either. The hurt and bewilderment in her face when Lee had yelled at her had been replaced with anger.

"Oh, shut it, both of you, why don't you mind your own business!" Alicia said angrily to the twins, her voice getting louder with every word. She was talking more slowly as well, which is always a danger sign. It's a funny thing about Alicia- she talks fast normally, very fast sometimes, but when she gets angry, she slows right down.

"All of you- telling me my date is a jerk, but he only acts that way around you. I wonder why?" she said sarcastically, now getting into her stride. The few people who weren't down at breakfast were staring shamelessly. The twins were gaping at her, as though she was a particularly nasty Howler from their Mum. I wondered if Lee could hear her up in his dormitory. Probably.

"What do you care who I go out with anyway? Just mind your own business and LEAVE ERIC AND ME ALONE**! **Plenty of people- PLENTY OF PEOPLE- would say the two of you are jerks. And him!" she pointed in the general direction of Lee. She was getting angrier every second.

"Alici-" Fred began, but she cut him off with an angry glare.

"But I still hang around with you; _I_ never said anything when Ange agreed to go with you!"

That wasn't true or fair. Alright, Kenneth Towler had never quite forgiven Fred for putting Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas, but hardly anyone thought they were jerks. I wished she would just shut up. I understood why was she was angry, I suppose I'd be a bit peeved too if someone told me Fred was such an awful person (I guess I was, in fact), but still. Couldn't she see we were trying to help her? That _Eric _was the bad guy here, not us? But I knew what she was feeling. She wanted so badly to believe Eric was perfect for her. It was easier for her to believe that the twins and Lee were the ones who were wrong, especially after Lee had screamed at her.

She was still ranting. The twins made several attempts to stop her, but she ignored them and soon they fell silent. I didn't even try. With Alicia, you have to just let her get it all out, and then wait a bit for her to cool down. Then you can talk to her. She was almost done now anyway.

"**-**YOUR OWN BUSINESS! I'M GOING WITH ERIC, AND THAT- IS- THAT!" With that, she stormed away, back to our dormitory. I had a weird feeling of déjà vu.

Fred watched her go. "She didn't have to get so mad about it. I swear, Angelina," he turned to me, "I was only telling the truth."

"I believe you," I sighed, "But try to see it from her point of view. Imagine someone told you that, that I was a jerk and that I bullied first years. What would you do?"

He grinned. "I'd smile and say, 'Thanks, but I already knew that.'"

"Oh, ha ha," I said sourly, as the git and his twin laughed. I wasn't really upset, though. Actually, I was quite happy. I had been a bit worried that things would be very awkward between Fred and me, now that we were sort of dating. But, really, things were the same as ever. It was wonderful.

"Seriously, though, Ange," George said, sobering, "Why would she get so upset at Fred and me? I mean, why would we lie to her?"

"And why was Lee so upset before?" Fred asked. "I don't love the idea of Alicia going with Hale myself, but you don't see me screaming about it."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I wondered that myself. And then, I thought that, that maybe Lee, you know, was _jealous_ of Hale."

"You think he likes Alicia?" Fred said, frowning.

"I suppose you two would know better than I would," I said. "But it would make sense, don't you think? If he wanted to go with Alicia, it'd make him mad when he heard she was already going with someone, wouldn't it? Especially if it was someone he really didn't like. I think he might have been planning to ask her this morning, actually."

George was nodding. "I never would have come up with that conclusion by myself, but, looking back, it does explain a few things. Like how he didn't want to give her a Ton-Tongue Toffee a few days ago. And… other stuff too, just small changes in the way he's been acting since they announced the Yule Ball."

"It doesn't explain why she was so angry at us, though," Fred said. "I mean, alright, I'd be a bit upset if someone told me y-, my date was a terrible person, but I've known, known you for years, so I'd know it wasn't true. If it was someone I didn't know so well, and my best mate told me that my date bullied first years, I'd be a bit worried!"

"Yeah," I said, "But I think the problem is that even though she _doesn't_ know Eric very well, she kind of _thinks _she does."

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"I mean, she convinced herself that he is perfect for her! She's infatuated with him. Well, you've seen the way she looks at him."

"No," the twins said together.

"What?" I said, surprised. How could anyone miss it? "Well, you two aren't in Arithmancy, I suppose," I conceded. "But what about in mealtimes? Haven't you noticed she keeps glancing over at the Ravenclaw table?"

They both shook their heads.

"Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter," I said, plowing on. "Everyone in Arithmancy has noticed, even Hale, I think. What I'm trying to tell you is that I think she's set him up to be the perfect boy for her, because, well, he is, quite, um, quite good-looking, isn't he? She's never seen him bully people, or use them. Alicia thinks he's perfect, and she doesn't want to hear that he's not," I finished awkwardly. I was really wishing I hadn't said the part about Hale being good-looking, especially in front of Fred.

After a slight pause, I stood up. "I think I'll try to go talk to Alicia now. Breakfast is probably over anyway."

George had frowned suddenly; I stopped, and looked back, "What?"

"Well, I was just thinking," he said. "I just remembered that yesterday, in Charms, Patricia told me that Eric Hale had asked Kristen Doyle to the Yule Ball."

"Oh, yeah," said Fred, "I remember that too. She turned him down, though."

"Can't say that I blame her," I smirked.

"Yeah," George said. "But don't you think it's a bit odd, though, that he asked someone else so soon? I mean… if... I got turned down, I didn't want to ask anyone else to the Yule Ball."

"What do you mean you _didn't want_?" I asked.

"Who'd you get turned down by, George?" said Fred, grinning. "C'mon, you can tell us!"

"No, I can't. I mean, there's nothing to tell! I meant, I wouldn't want to ask anyone else."

"Okay," I said, not convinced. "I suppose you're right, it is a bit odd, but it's not criminal…. See you two later."

As I walked up to the girls' dormitories, I couldn't help but shake my head. What had gotten into everybody?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I opened the door to my dormitory, and found Alicia sitting on her bed, her arms crossed.

"Hey, Alicia," I said brightly. I winced inwardly. Too brightly.

She stared at me coldly, but at least she didn't start yelling. She just said, "Look, if you're going to try to convince me not to go to the Yule Ball with Eric, I don't want to hear about it."

"Hey, hear me out, okay?" I said, again too brightly.

I took a deep breath, and then began the monologue I'd been rehearsing all the way up the stairs. "Look, Alicia, I know you're sixteen, and you're perfectly capable of making your own decisions, but I want you to know that I'm your best friend, and I really am just trying to help you. I know you like Eric a lot, but I don't think you should go to the Yule Ball with him."

She began to interrupt, but I held up my hand, and kept talking. She fell silent.

"That said, you're free, obviously, to decide for yourself, and I won't badger you about it again. Lastly, please talk to the twins and Lee- they were only trying to help," I finished, feeling proud of myself for how mature and calm I'd just been.

I'd decided not to tell her about how I thought Lee liked her. If she hadn't guessed, I didn't want to be the one to tell her. It would only make things more complicated. Alicia would never choose Lee over Hale.

I wasn't surprised at the answer she gave, but I was a bit surprised when she didn't yell it. There was still a cold edge to her voice, however. "Alright- I'm going to the Yule Ball with Eric, and you'd better make good on your word, because nothing you say will change my mind, but I'll talk to Fred, George, and Lee. I'm sorry I yelled at them. I still can't figure out why Lee was so angry, I mean, he _never _gets like that!"

I shrugged. Could she really not have guessed, or did she just not want to say it?

I plopped myself on my bed, and Alicia and I sat in silence for a few minutes. I looked out the window. Several second year Gryffindors were having a snowball fight out on the grounds. My stomach growled, and I was reminded yet again that I'd skipped breakfast.

"Hey, Angelina, I've been meaning to ask you," Alicia said. Now it's her voice that is too bright. "When did you realize that you were _in love _with Fred Weasley?"

"I'm not in love with him!" I shrieked, throwing a pillow at her. We both giggled in relief. Then tension between us seemed to have evaporated.

"You know what I mean," Alicia grinned.

"Well, I dunno," I started slowly, "It was just- something really stupid, actually."

"Tell me!" she insisted.

"Well, alright," I agreed. It was a good, if slightly embarrassing memory. "It really was rather stupid. I was in the hallway, walking to the Great Hall for dinner with the twins. We'd been in the common room; I think you and Lee had gone to the library. Anyway, Pansy Parkinson- that awful Slytherin fourth year- came up behind, with her tittering friends.

'Johnson,' she said, I have a question for you.' I knew it was going to be something snide, so I ignored her. That girl can't take a hint though, so she kept going. 'I was just wondering why you thought it looked good to wear a bunch of ugly black snakes hanging off your head.' All her idiot friends thought that was hilarious. I wanted to turn around and slap her little face off, but I just ignored her and kept walking. Fred got all angry though, and turned around and told her that he thought my hair was beautiful- much more so than her thin little greasy strands or her ugly little face. That wiped the grin right off."

I realized I'd been staring out the window as I'd been talking. Now I looked at Alicia. "I told you it was stupid. But when I looked at him, at that moment, I realized that I was developing a crush on Fred Weasley," I laughed. "It did make me feel slightly nauseous, I must admit."

Alicia had been watching me with a smile, but her eyes looked slightly sad. I wondered if she was wishing she had a story like that for her and Eric.

"Ange," she said now, "That's so sweet, so… perfect."

"Yeah," I said smiling. "That's what I thought, too."

* * *

_Hey, I'm back! Sorry, I know it's been like three weeks since I updated, but I put two chapters up today, so I'm catching up. This chapter a bit shorter than I like, but I really wanted to end it right there, so, yeah. Please review, I want to know what you all think about these two chapters!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Julia _


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Alicia did apologize to the twins for yelling at them later. She also told them that she was going with Hale no matter what, and she didn't want to hear anything else from them on the subject. Rather surprisingly, they listened to her, and said nothing more about it, but I don't think they liked it any more than I did.

However, there was nothing we could do about it, and anyway, even if he was a bully, even if he did use people (which I fully believed he did), surely he wouldn't hurt Alicia. He was the one who'd asked to go with her; he had _wanted_ to go with her. It wasn't as if she was stuck with him forever either; it was just one dance.

I told myself all those things again and again, but still- it didn't feel right. Eric was now spending every Arithmancy class shooting Alicia with these big, soppy grins over Kristen Doyle's shoulder. Alicia practically wet herself every time he grinned at her, and even I had to admit he looked really cute. For some reason, though, every time he smiled at her, it made me feel sick to my stomach.

****

"Hey, do any of you fancy a brownie?" Kenneth Towler asked Lee, Fred, George, Alicia, and I on Christmas Eve in an extremely loud and crowded common room. Almost all of the older students (and even a few third years like the twins' younger sister, Ginny) had stayed over Christmas for the Yule Ball. The five of us were all just lounging around, relaxing before the Yule Ball tomorrow. Lee and Fred were playing a game of wizard chess on the floor: George was sitting next to Fred, watching the game; Alicia was draped over a chair, flipping through _Witch Weekly_, and I was reading Quidditch through the Ages for the hundredth time.

"Fred? Fancy a brownie? They're really good…"

Alicia reached out to take one. They did look good, but before I could grab one as well, Fred snorted. "Yeah, right, Kenneth. There's no way I'm taking one of those, no matter how good they are. I don't fancy being a canary on Christmas Eve." Alicia snatched her hand back, apparently horrified at the idea of almost eating a canary cream.

Looking disappointed, Kenneth slouched away. Fred watched him go, shaking his head. "Stupid git. Does he really think he's going to get me with my own product?"

Lee chuckled. "He still wants to get you back for putting Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas."

Lee was back to being his old cheerful self, except for the way he was treating Alicia. He refused to talk to her directly unless it was absolutely necessary. (It killed him in Transfiguration when McGonagall told him to, "Tell Miss Spinnet not to flourish her wand so much.") He wouldn't look her in the eye either. I'd tried to talk to him about it all, but he walked away before I could get very far.

Alicia was really upset about it all, even though she was adamantly denying it. She was now refusing to even try to talk to Lee, because it was "his problem." She still didn't know what his problem was though, or, at least, I didn't think she did. She was normally good with feelings, relationships, and stuff, but I think this was just too close to home for her to see clearly.

"Yeah, I know he wants revenge on Fred," George was saying. "But did he really think that we wouldn't notice he bought about ten Canary Creams earlier this morning?"

Alicia laughed. "Did he really? _This_ morning?"

"Yep," Fred answered. "I mean, how thick does he think we are?"

"Well, he wasn't exactly impressed when he heard you each only got three O.W.L.s," Lee put in, staring at the chessboard in concentration.

"Yeah, and I heard, Kenneth got ten of 'em," I added, putting my book down.

"Really?" George said sarcastically. "Never heard that before."

"Ken's very modest about stuff like that," Lee snorted, as he finally moved a pawn.

"It's funny, really," Fred said thoughtfully, "How much grades mean to some people."

"Yes, well," I rolled my eyes, "They do tend to mean more to people who actually study, rather than play Exploding Snap all day with their Charms book in front of them."

"In our defense," Fred said as the rest of us laughed, "The Charms book _was_ open."

"Yeah- to the same page all day," Alicia giggled, stretching out her legs.

"Oh, yeah," George said reminiscently, "It was open to the page on Cheering Charms. I got full marks on the question on them on the practical."

"The sad thing is," said Lee, waiting for Fred to make his move, "That you two are actually intelligent. I mean, look at all the stuff you've invented! And you used to get really good marks in your first and second years…."

"True, that," George grinned, "But when we actually had to start putting a real effort in schoolwork, Fred and I decided it wasn't worth it."

"Personally, I think the sad thing is that a kid like Kenneth, who got 10 O.W.L.s can't even pull off a prank on a poor soul like me who only got three," Fred said as he moved his bishop forward, capturing Lee's pawn. "It just goes to show you, doesn't it? All those tests they throw at you, they really don't mean a thing, do they?"

"Well, it's not exactly easy to pull a prank on us, is it?" George said, smiling deviously.

"Has anyone ever gotten you two back for anything?" Lee asked, grinning.

"Uh, I dunno," Fred frowned. "I don't think so."

"Yeah, I can't think of anyone either."

"Hello?" I said, throwing down my book again. "What about me? I got you back for dumping purple goo on me on our very first day here!"

The twins turned to look at me. Slowly, George nodded. "And that's exactly why we love you, Angelina."

We all laughed, including George, as though it was a joke, but, somehow, I don't think it was.

* * *

_Hey all, _

_I know this is a bit of a pointless chapter, but I just couldn't cut it! I liked it too much! That doesn't mean you have to, though. Please review, and tell me what you think, and feel free to criticize. Chapter Nine, if you care, should be up today or tomorrow. _

_Thanks to all who have reviewed!_

_Julia_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Come on, you idiot, get him!" Fred urged his knight, which was involved in a violent tussle with one of Lee's bishops.

"Get him, you can do it, come on," Lee egged his own piece on.

A short girl with dark curls walked over.

"Hey, you guys!" she said, smiling nervously, as Lee's bishop was dragged off the board.

"Hey, Maya," Alicia greeted her, looking up from her magazine. "Happy the holidays are here?"

"Oh, yeah," Maya answered. "Mum and Dad were a bit disappointed that I wasn't coming home for Christmas this year, but I couldn't miss the Yule Ball. I think my younger sister was happy, though. Magdalena's only a second year, so she didn't stay, and now she gets our parents to herself."

Alicia laughed. "Yeah, I can't wait tomorrow. The Yule Ball's going to be a blast."

Lee scowled, but I think I was the only one who noticed. Maya stood there, wringing her hands for a minute, and then plopped herself next to George, and began watching the chess game.

I've known Maya for six years, as she's shared a dormitory with Alicia and me. We never exactly hit it off with her or her best friend, Elizabeth Morgan, but we got on fine. She'd never just come over by herself to hang out with us, though. Where was Elizabeth? I looked around, and then spotted her sitting in a chair with Gabriel Chambers, her boyfriend. Both of them were watching Maya avidly. What was going on?

After a few minutes, just as I was beginning to shoot "what-the-heck-is-going-on" looks at Alicia, Maya stood up. She took a deep breath, looked right at Fred, and then said, "George, can I, can I have a word, er, please?"

There was a silence, as Alicia, Fred, Lee, and I turned to look at George. He looked surprised, but he said, "Yeah, okay."

He stood up. Maya blushed crimson as she realized she'd been addressing the wrong twin. They went over to the corner of the common room together. Maya's back was to me, but I could see George's face.

"Reckon she's the one he was referring to when he let slip that stuff the other day about 'not wanting to ask anyone else'?" Fred asked me, watching his brother avidly.

"I dunno, probably," I said. "It'd make sense, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," agreed Fred.

"What?" asked Alicia.

We told her and Lee, although the latter didn't appear very interested. I think he was sick to death of all things pertaining to the Yule Ball. He hadn't shown any interest in asking anyone else, and had even turned down a fifth year girl who had asked him a few days ago. I was a bit surprised at this. I had thought he might try and make Alicia jealous, but I don't think he wanted anything to do with her anymore.

"C'mon, Fred, make you move," Lee complained. Fred ignored him, too busy watching George and Maya.

I turned around, and saw that Elizabeth and Gabriel were still watching the pair as closely as we were.

George was staring at Maya with surprise, and, oddly, sadness. Then, suddenly, his face broke into a slow grin, and he nodded.

"Oh my gosh!" Alicia squealed. "I bet he just agreed to go with her to the Yule Ball!"

"I thought _he_ already asked _her_," I said, frowning, but no one was listening.

Maya had turned away from George, and was running back towards Elizabeth and Gabriel, grinning so much that it looked like it hurt. Elizabeth gave a big hug, and they started jumping up and down as Gabriel watched in amusement.

George was walking back over to us now, looking dazed.

"Ohmy-didsh-aryou-" Alicia exclaimed so fast it was completely unintelligible.

George was watching her in bemusement. I could tell he was completely confused as to why she was so excited.

"Er- we're going to the Yule Ball together," he said, grinning sheepishly.

Alicia clapped her hands excitedly and bounced up and down; Fred stood up and clapped his twin hard on the back, knocking over the chess pieces, all of whom roared in protest. Even Lee was grinning.

"Hey, George," I said, smiling, "Is Maya the one that you "didn't" ask the other day?"

Suddenly, he looked embarrassed and almost- regretful? "Wha- oh! Oh, yeah. Yeah," he said slowly. "I asked her the other day, and she… she told me she'd think on it. I thought she was just trying to be polite, and that she didn't want to go with me at all, but then, just now, she told me that she'd love to go with me, if I'd have her."

I didn't want to ruin his happiness, but I did wonder what had caused Maya's change of heart. Then I shook myself. First I was worried about Eric, Alicia's date, now it was Maya. I just needed to leave things be. Everything would be fine; I was being way too nosey.

I really was happy for George. He'd seemed so down the past few days, not even cracking jokes with Fred in class as much, and he'd even been a bit distant with me. This would cheer him up, especially since Maya's refusal had probably been the thing that had brought him down.

Alicia was now bombarding George with questions, most of which she didn't wait for him to answer. Fred turned to me.

"The Yule Ball is going to be fantastic, isn't it?" he said quietly.

"I hope so," I answered fervently.

"It will be," he said firmly. "You and I'll be together, won't we?"

I grinned, not knowing what to say to that. I was working very hard not to blush.

The moment was ruined, however, by Lee, who asked, "Hey, Angelina, can you pass me that _Which Broomstick_. It's right there- no, there- on that chair- yeah."

Grudgingly, I got up and threw him the stupid thing.

"Thanks," he said, catching it and grinning at me. "Have to find something else to do now that the chess game's ruined."

"You were losing anyway," I snarled.

It wasn't just that he'd interrupted a great moment between and Fred and me. The magazine he'd wanted had been lying right next to Alicia.

****

We were the last ones in the common room that night. Fred, George, Lee and I had started and Exploding Snap game, that Maya, Elizabeth, and Gabriel soon joined. Alicia even played, rather reluctantly, after Fred "confiscated" her _Witch Weekly_. We played until the early hours of the morning, when Elizabeth fell asleep on Gabriel's shoulder.

Alicia, Elizabeth, Maya, and I trudged wearily up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. We didn't talk much, careful not to wake a sleeping Patricia. I was about to climb into bed when I realized I'd left my copy of Quidditch through the Ages down in the common room. I told Alicia where I was going.

"Hmmmm," she muttered, already in bed, with her eyes closed.

I rolled my eyes and slipped out of the dormitory. I entered the common room and began searching for my book, when a small noise made me freeze.

A tall figure was smashing something against a wall on the opposite side of the room. After a minute, he stopped, sighed, and headed off towards the boys' dormitories. As he passed the fireplace, the firelight flickered on his dark dreadlocks. I crouched behind a chair as he passed, and he didn't seem to realize he wasn't alone.

When the door to the dormitories had closed, I crept over to the spot where the boy had been.

"Lumos," I whispered. My wand tip alighted, revealing pieces of metal lying on the floor.

"Reparo," I muttered, and then stooped to pick up what I had just fixed.

There in my hand lay a golden necklace that I was sure that Lee had once intended to give to Alicia.

* * *

_Sept. 19- Just a quick note that I will MOST DEFINITELY be continuing this story, even though it's been almost a month since I updated. I've been really busy lately. I did have a draft for Chapter 10, but I scrapped it because it didn't quite flow right..... I'm not sure when I'll update next, but I will update! I promise!_

_-Julia_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

By the time I'd grabbed my book and crept back up the stairs, Alicia and the others had all fallen asleep. Quietly, I slipped the newly-repaired necklace into a pair of socks in my trunk, and tossed my book on the nightstand. Absolutely exhausted, as it was now the early hours of the morning, I flopped into bed and slid under the covers without even unbraiding my hair. I'd regret that in the morning, as it was always gave me a terrible headache, but I was just too tired to do anything but sleep.

Or so I thought. I rolled over and closed my eyes, expecting to fall asleep immediately, but, tired as I was, I just couldn't.

It was impossible for me to stop thinking about Alicia and Lee. I started off trying to think of any possible way to get them together or at least be friends again. After about half and hour of tossing and turning, I had exactly one item on my mental list, and it wasn't exactly stellar, as it involved performing the Imperious Curse on the both of them. In my frustration, I began compiling another list in my head about why the two of them were such idiots. This one, somewhat satisfactorily, was much longer.

I really tried to fall asleep after that, because I knew my day would be terrible tomorrow if I didn't, but I couldn't block out Lee's tortured face, illuminated by the flickering firelight minutes earlier, or the broken necklace, or Eric Hale's stupid smiles, or Alicia's angry face.

Finally, I stopped thinking about them, but I still couldn't fall asleep, because I'd stumbled on another disturbing subject. What if what had happened to Lee and Alicia happened to Fred and me? What if we broke up, horribly, and never spoke to each other again? I couldn't bear it if I lost Fred's friendship. Of course, perhaps I was worrying unnecessarily. Maybe we'd part amicably, and go back to what we were now. Or perhaps we'd stay together forever, and get married, eventually. I tried to picture Fred and me getting married, and found I couldn't. I almost didn't want to. I supposed it was because my feelings for him were little more than a crush now. But that could change….. This perturbed me so much, that I tried desperately to find any subject to latch onto that would let me fall asleep.

That was how I ended up rewriting a poem in my head at two in the morning. It was a poem that my mum, a Muggle-born, had read to me every Christmas Eve until the year I'd went off to Hogwarts. It was the one that began "It was the night before Christmas." My version was somewhat different from the one my mum had always read, though. I changed the "While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads" line to, "While visions of idiots danced in my head." Also, my version of the poem contained expletives that would make the Weasley twins blush. At some point, I must have dropped off to sleep, because the next thing I knew, sunlight was streaming through the window, and it was morning.

For a moment, I just sat there, blinking in the bright light, unable to really see anything at all. When I recovered my vision, I glanced around the room. Elizabeth and Maya had apparently been up for awhile; they were sitting on Maya's bed chatting with all their presents and scraps of wrapping paper strewn around them. Patricia was gone already, probably to wish her younger brother, a fifth year, a Merry Christmas.

Alicia, who was sitting on her bed, examining a new set of everyday robes. As I glanced over at her, she turned, and, when she saw my eyes were opened, smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Angelina!" she said, and then continued, before I could even take a begin to answer her, "You've been sleeping for forever. I was just about to wake you up myself."

"Well, I… we were all up late last night," I answered. I'd been about to mention how I'd tossed and turned hours after she was sleeping peacefully, but, suddenly, I didn't want to. I didn't want to tell her about either of the reasons I couldn't sleep last night.

I tried to put it all out of my head. It was Christmas, after all, and the day of the Yule Ball as well. I was actually excited for the Yule Ball. I knew Fred and I would have fun tonight, no matter what happened after that.

"Oh," Alicia said, drawing me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, I suppose we were…. Well, are you going to get up now? You haven't even wished me a Merry Christmas yet, let alone open the present I got you."

"Or given you yours, right?" I joked.

She laughed. "That too."

I yawned and stretched, then slowly slid out of my warm blankets.

"Yeesh. It's freezing it here."

"Merry Christmas, Angelina!" Maya called from across the room, apparently just noticing I was up.

"Merry Christmas, Maya, Elizabeth," I called back.

"Yeah, you too," Elizabeth grinned.

"Come on, Ange," Alicia said, tossing me a small blue package, "Hurry up, and open it."

I did. It was a silver necklace with a tiny 'a' on it. Hugging her in surprise, I said, "Thanks, Alicia. It's really pretty. I'll wear it tonight; it will go really well with my dress robes."

"I thought it'd look pretty on you," she beamed.

"Now you open mine," I said as I tossed her a small red package.

She opened it and then gasped in surprise.

"I thought it would pretty on you," I shrugged, smiling.

She held the exact same necklace she'd given me. Grinning, she said, "I guess great minds really do think alike. Thanks, Angelina; I'll wear mine tonight as well."

I opened the rest of my presents. My parents had sent me a set of chessman for wizard chess, and some books; Lee had gotten me a poster of the Holyhead Harpies, and the twins had bought me a huge box of candy. I opened it immediately, unable to resist the sweet aroma, even if it was before breakfast.

I was about to open a small bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, when I noticed a small, singularly-wrapped piece of chocolate. Chocolate sounded better to me just then, so I dropped the Every Flavor Beans, and opened the chocolate. As soon as it was out of its wrapper, however, all thought of eating it left my mind. Staring down on it in amazement, I read what was inscribed on it again: I LUV U.

I almost felt like crying of happiness as I wrapped it back up, and put it in my trunk. I'd put a Preservation Charm or something on it later. Jeez. Who'd have thought Fred Weasley could be so sweet?

Once I'd put it away, I looked over at Alicia, to make sure she hadn't seen what I'd been doing. Maya and Elizabeth had already left the dormitory about five minutes ago. Maybe it was stupid, but for some reason, I wanted to keep that one piece of chocolate secret. It was almost too sweet to talk about. Alicia wasn't paying at all attention to me, however. She had tears in her eyes as she surveyed the presents on her bed.

"What's the matter," I asked her. "Didn't get any good presents?"

She shook her head. "No, I did, it's just…… you got that poster from Lee, right?"

I nodded, confused.

Two tears slid down her cheeks. "He didn't get me anything this year. Nothing at all."

"Oh, Alicia," I said, sitting next to her and putting my arm around her shoulders, "I'm so sorry."

"I don't know why he's so angry at me," she sobbed. "What did I ever do to him?"

It was good she didn't seem to expect an answer. I didn't have a clue what to say.

****

We spent most of the day walking around the grounds, talking about everything but boys and the Yule Ball. We spotted the Weasleys and Harry having a snowball fight, but Alicia said she didn't feel like joining in. I think she was afraid Lee would show up, and she wanted to avoid him. I suggested, tentatively, that maybe she could try to talk to him, but she rejected that idea so vehemently that I said nothing more on the subject.

I still didn't think she'd figured out why he was so mad at her yet. Or maybe she suspected it, but she just didn't want to talk about it.

All in all, it wasn't the best Christmas I've ever had, but it wasn't over yet. About two hours before the ball was to start, we headed upstairs. I could have waited another hour to get ready, but Alicia insisted on going up early. She wanted to look absolutely perfect for Eric.

Alicia started to seem happier once we started to get ready. The thought of spending a whole night dancing with Eric seemed to be cheering her up immensely, though I admit that it did nothing but dampen my own spirits.

* * *

_Hey!_

_Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I've been really busy, and I also had a case of writer's block. This chapter really isn't one of my favorites, but felt that, at this point, I just needed to move on with the story. The next chapter, which is the Yule Ball (!!!!!) will hopefully not take so long for me to write and post. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I do hope you give me a review. _

_-Julie_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"I'm so glad I don't wear braces anymore. Remember, Angelina? In first year? I had the biggest overbite, and when I was ten, the dentist said I needed braces. I was really upset because my cousin Kelly- she's on my mom's side, a Muggle... Well, all my relatives are Muggles, really, except my dad's sister and her husband and toddler. Anyway, Kelly's the one whose hair I accidentally turned to purple when was five and she was seven. I told you about that, right? It wasn't really my fault, though. I mean, it was before Hogwarts, and I got mad because she wouldn't share her dolls with me, and I didn't mean to, but I accidentally did magic. My dad got so ticked. He had to fix Kelly's hair and then Obliviate like, five people, just to get us out of there…." She paused for about three seconds. "What was I saying? Why'd I bring up Kell- oh! Yeah, so Kelly got braces before me, and she came over to my house for dinner the night after she got them, and I remember she tried to eat something, and then started crying because it hurt so bad. So I really didn't want to get braces, especially because my dad said he could fix my teeth with magic, but my mum insisted. She's never really trusted magic, you know? Sometimes I'm surprised that she married him at all, because he told her before they got married, after they got engaged, but they do really love each other. Anyway, so I had to wear braces the all of first year, and I remember…"

"Alicia," I said, gritting my teeth, "Will you please shut your mouth and hurry up? You're driving me _off the wall."_

It was 7:30, exactly one half hour before the Yule Ball was due to start, and Alicia and I were the last ones in the dormitory, because Elizabeth, Maya, and Patricia had left just minutes before.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she said, looking into the mirror as she put cover-up on an invisible blemish. "I'm just nervous, you know," she glanced over at me, standing by the door impatiently, "Or maybe you don't. Jeez, Angelina, you look as cool as a cucumber! Aren't you nervous at all?"

I groaned and flopped onto the nearest bed (Patricia's). "Are you kidding me? Of course I'm nervous. I'm a total wreck. I mean, first of all, I'm worried because I look like a hag compared to you and everyone else. Why are you so worried? I mean, you've had two boyfriends. I've only ever been on a few dates. I'm seventeen and I've never had a boyfriend! So of course I'm worried that I won't know how to act around Fred now that I'm his date. And I'm also nervous because if Fred and I do start going out and then we break up horribly, then we'll never be friends again. Then I'm also freaking out about- I'm freaking out!"

I stopped myself there, disgusted. I'd been rambling almost as badly as Alicia. I'd been about to blurt out how worried I was about the whole Lee-Alicia-Eric love triangle thing. (Well, I suppose it wasn't really a love triangle. If it was, Eric would be in love with Lee, and we'd have even bigger fish to fry.)

I was worried about, though. Not that I was going to tell her that. I waited anxiously to see if she'd caught my slight slip-up.

Apparently not, because what she said was, "Jeez, and you get mad at me for rambling!"

"Oh, come on," I said, though I'd just thought the same thing myself. "It's hardly comparable. I mean, you've been going on for hours about absolutely nothing. The whole time you were talking I was going back and forth on who I'd rather have in this room right now- you or You-Know-Who!"

She laughed, though part of me wasn't kidding. Then she said, "And your worries are so much less rational than mine," she turned away from the mirror from the first time to look at me. "You don't look like a hag, Ange. You're hair looks really nice tonight."

I fingered the sleek black bun she'd put it in. I knew I didn't look like a hag, really. But I wasn't exactly the prettiest girl in Hogwarts. What I said, however, was, "Thanks, Spinnet. I knew there was some reason I kept you around."

She laughed again and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But why are you pretending that you aren't nervous?"

I'm not pretending like I'm not nervous," I said, "I just don't see the point in moping around," I rolled off the bed, stood up, and looked at Alicia, "Or annoying the heck out of your best friend, when inevitibly, we're going to have to go face the thing we're so worried about in oh, " I looked at the clock, "Fifteen minutes?"

She jumped up, "Fifteen minutes? I supposed to meet Eric, like, now!"

"I know," I said, "So _let's go_."

"Okay, alright," she said, but she didn't move, only looked wildly around, as if looking for something she'd forgotten.

"Okay," she said again, "How do I look?"

I looked at her pale blue dress robes, which matched both her eyes and her headband, her unnaturally wavy blonde hair, the thin silver bracelets on her wrists, and lastly, at the silver 'a' necklace that hung around her neck.

"Amazing," I said truthfully, "And me?"

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing purple dress robes, silver earrings, and a necklace that was just like Alicia's.

"Same," she said, then added, "Just fix that one strand of hair, no, not that one- yeah, perfect."

For a moment, despite the fact that we were both late, we just stood there in silence, looking around the room, as if unsure if we really wanted to do this."

At last, I said, "Okay, let's go." With that, we left the dormitory, closing the door behind us.

The common room probably held less people than normal, because not only had many of the younger students gone home over break, but some had already left to meet dates from other houses in the entrance hall.

It didn't matter. The common room was packed; it seemed as if someone had put a Shrinking Spell on it. I guess it was because everyone was so much more excited than normal, and also because instead of everyone wearing the same shade of dull black, it seemed that now, no one was wearing exactly the same color.

When we reached the bottom of the steps, we were met by a very flustered, desperate-looking Maya. Even so, she looked extremely pretty, in pink robes that went with her tan skin, and her long dark hair in a braid down her back.

I got a foul taste in my mouth, looking at her. I couldn't believe that I'd have to stand next to her all night, which of course I would have to. The Weasley twins would never spend a whole party apart.

"Oh, thank goodness," she said, as we turn to face her. I gave her a smile so fake I feel like a Malfoy.

She doesn't seem to notice, and says agitatedly**,** "Do you have any idea where the twins are? I was supposed to meet George five minutes ago, but I can't find him anywhere. I mean, there's this huge crowd, and I don't even know what color he's wearing!"

I turned away from her, to search the crowd. After a moment, I spotted two laughing red heads over by the portrait hole. I don't see any dreadlocks nearby, but even so, when I turn back to Maya, I'm smiling, and this time, it's a real one.

No matter how much prettier she was than me, I still knew Fred and George better.  
"Lesson one on hanging out with the twins, Maya," I said, "They're never hard to find."

* * *

_**I **get a foul taste in my mouth, thinking of how loooooooong it's been since I've updated. Rest assured though, I WILL finish the dang story, even if I'm 102 and haven't got any reviews for twenty years. Hopefully, though I'll have the next chapter up by this weekend... I already have it written in my head. I hope y'all continue to read this, despite the delay!_

_Thanks, and please leave a review, good or bad, _

_Julia_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I suppose part of me thought that it would take hours, days, _years _to push through that crowd. I thought I had ages and ages before I had to face what was on the other side.

Unfortunately, it took minutes. All of the sudden, I was staring at them, the Weasley twins, absolutely and utterly speechless, though I've hung out with them since I was eleven. My first and only thought in those first few seconds was, _I'm speechless and swooning._

However, I quickly got a grip on myself, fanned off from the heat of the crowd and said, "Hey, guys," because I was Angelina Johnson, and these were the Weasleys twins for goodness's sake!

"Hey, Ange," they said together, but they're both a little distracted, and I wondered which of the three of us- because Maya is on my left, and Alicia, on my right, they're actually looking at. I couldn't help but think that there was no way that it was me.

"Merry Christmas, George.... and Fred!" Maya said, looked desperately between the two of them, who looked as identical as ever. They were even dressed in the same black dress robes. I smirked, realizing that she didn't have a clue which of the red-haired boys in front of her was her date. That smirk promptly slid off my face when I realized that I didn't have a clue either.

I could only tell the difference by the way they spoke, or, occasionally, smirked, because Fred's was a whole lot eviller. They hadn't really said enough for me to tell yet.

Luckily, one of them chose that moment to speak. "You look so- different tonight, Angelina, with you hair all...."

"Yeah," snickered the other, "It actually looks civilized for once."

"Thanks a lot," I said sourly, then added, "Fred," for Maya's benefit, though part of me felt she didn't deserve it.

Really, though, she hadn't done anything. Fred was the one who deserved the blame. He was really ticking me off. I knew he was just teasing, and if we hadn't been about to go to the Yule Ball together, it wouldn't have bugged me in the slightest. But that wasn't the way things were right now; we weren't just friends anymore, we were practically dating. Right now, George was complimenting Maya, albeit rather awkwardly, on her dress robes. All Fred had said about my appearance was that my hair "looked civilized for once."

Hadn't he once said that he loved it?

"Angelina?" Alicia said, and I jumped, because I'd almost forgotten she was there. "I'm going down to meet Eric now, okay?" she grinned nervously, "I'll see you guys later."

With that, she walked off. Fred watched the portrait hole close behind her, and then turned to me. "So what was up with her earlier? George, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and me were having a snowball fight, and I saw you two walking around the grounds. I thought she looked really cut up about something, but then Ginny got me in the face, and by the time I thought to look again, you were gone."

"Lee didn't get her a Christmas present," I told him, "And she's really cut up about it."

"He's not exactly the picture of happiness either," George put in, having turned away from Maya and leaned into our conversation. "You'd have thought that today was his death day, instead of Christmas, from the way he was moping around...."

"I told him he should come to the Yule Ball with us, go stag," Fred said, "But he wouldn't go for it."

"He's being such a prat," his twin said, "Just because he can't go to the Yule Ball with Alicia.... I don't blame him for being upset, but, come on, he needs to move on, get over it."

"Mabye he will," I sighed heavily, "Maybe, after tonight, things will finally go back to normal again."

We fell into silence, until Maya said, a little awkwardly, "So, George, what'd you get for Christmas?"

"Yet another sweater knitted by my mother," he rolled his eyes, "She sends one every year, but mine is always blue with a yellow G on it. At least it's not maroon though. My brother, Ron, always gets a maroon one, and he hates it. Actually, there he is right now, and as you can see" George pointed as Harry, Ron, whp was in frayed maroon dress robes, and a girl with long dark hair walked past us, "His wardrobe problems go beyond having too many maroon sweaters."

Maya giggled, but I wasn't really listening anymore. The talk of Christmas presents had reminded me of something else.

"By the way," I said, smiling knowingly at Fred, "Thanks so much for all the candy. I especially liked the chocolate."

He grinned back at me, but before either of us could say anything else, George said briskly, "Well, should we go then?"

Maya nodded, "Yeah, but can we wait for Elizabeth and Gabriel? They're right over there... I'll go get them."

She went off to get them, and then we set off, down to the entrance hall, with Gabriel and Elizabeth falling in beside Maya and George, and Fred and I bringing up the rear. The two of us were both laughing, though I never really knew why.

When we got to the entrance hall, the Great Hall doors were just opening. Beyond the mass of students, I could see one hundread small tables, walls of glittering frost, deep green mistletoe, red holly, and the starry black ceiling.

The Yule Ball had begun.

* * *

_Hey! Hope you enjoy the chapter!_

_Julia_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

We made our way into the Great Hall, hardly saying anything, but it wasn't an awkward silence. As soon as they'd open the doors, everyone had gotten quieter. They were too busy looking around at the Great Hall.

I mean, okay, it's a school for magic, so I knew the decorations were going to be better than some streamers and a few cheesy Wizard Crackers, but this was really amazing, whatever some of the students from Beauxbatons were muttering under their breaths.

It looked like an ice castle. The walls sparkled with sheens of ice, bunches of holly, ivy, and mistletoe hung under the enchanted ceiling which, tonight, made in look like we were having a ball under the starry black sky.

"So," Fred said, "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Sit down, I guess," I said, gesturing to a small, circular table, one of the hundred or so that had replaced the four House tables.

"What about dancing?" Maya asked rather sadly.

"I think that's after dinner," George said, looking relieved.

"Yeah, dinner's first," Elizabeth said briskly, "So where do you all what to sit?"

We chose seats at one of the empty tables, leaving six seats open. Gabriel and Maya had placed themselves on either side of Elizabeth, and George took the spot on Maya's other side. I ended up in between the twins.

"Does anyone see Alicia anywhere?" I asked, craning my neck to scan the Great Hall.

"No," Fred answered, "But come on, Ange! I like Alicia and all, but do you really want to sit with Eric Hale?"

He had a point there, but Alicia was my best friend, and this was a big night. I couldn't alienate her just because she'd made one bad decision. Besides, maybe we were all wrong about Eric. Not that I thought that was very likely.

"I don't know," I said, and then Katie Bell, followed by Leanne and two boys I didn't know, walked over.

"Hey, guys," she said, "Is it okay if we sit here?"

"Yeah, go ahead," I grinned.

"Hey, Katie," said George, "Weird, really, that I haven't seen you in so long."

"I know," she said.

"Anyway," he went on, "This is Maya, and that's Elizabeth and Gabriel."

She smiled at them.

"You play Quidditch with George, Fred, and Angelina, right?" Maya asked.

"Oh, yeah," she said, "Chaser."

The four of them took seats, leaving the two on the other side of Fred open.

"You're saving those for Alicia, right?" Katie asked.

"Um, I guess," I said. "Actually, I was just looking for her…"

"She's over there, Angelina," Gabriel said, pointing. "She's just sat down."

He was right. She was sitting next to Eric at a table across the Hall, surrounded by a bunch of Ravenclaws.

"Thank Merlin," Fred sighed, "Eric Hale is just about the _last_ person I want to sit next to."

"Hey, all," Kenneth Towler said from behind us. "Mind if we sit?"

Without waiting for an answer, he and Patricia Stimpson took the last remaining seats.

Fred turned to me. "Make that second last."

Katie and I giggled, but Kenneth didn't notice.

"So I know all of you," he said, nodding to the original six of us, "But I don't know you four."

"Well," Katie said, trying to compose herself, "I'm Katie, and this is Thomas and Leanne and-"

"I'm Franklin," the short boy on her right said, "Her boyfriend."

The slight wrinkle of Katie's nose told me she didn't exactly agree with this term, but she didn't say anything in contradiction.

"Well, I'm Kenneth and this is my girlfriend, Patricia," Kenneth said pompously.

"I didn't know you two were dating," Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Um, well," Patricia said, looking embarrassed, "I guess this is our first date."

"And I'd always thought you were smart," George muttered, but only Maya and I heard him.

Just then, applause broke out as the champions and their dates entered the room.

"Why are they clapping?" Kenneth asked, apparently missing this.

"For me," Fred said seriously, "Didn't you know? I was recently crowned King of England." He stood on his chair, waved at everyone, and gave a bow. I pulled him down.

A couple people laughed, others stared, but for the most part no one noticed, too busy looking at the champions.

"You're such an idiot, Fred," Kenneth rolled his eyes, and then coughed rather obviously, "Three O.W.L.s."

Fred, George, and I just stared at him, and then turned away.

"Jeez, Harry looks white as a ghost," Fred remarked. "I mean, you'd think he'd be used to this sort of thing by now, wouldn't you?"

I shrugged. "Some people never get used to being the center of attention, and some people," I looked at him, "Never get over it."

"Who's Viktor Krum's date?" Elizabeth asked.

"Huh?" Gabriel said, and I suspected he'd only had eyes for one of the champions.

I frowned. "I don't kn-"

Then Katie gasped. "Oh my gosh," she said, "Isn't that Hermione Granger?"

"No!" said George.

"Hermione?" Fred said skeptically. "I guess it sort of looks like her, but-"

"No, Katie's right," I said. "It's Hermione."

"No," George said again. "It can't be."

Maya was looking kind of peeved. "Who's Hermione?"

"She's one of the twins' brother Ron's best friends," I told her, "But normally she looks totally different. And I had no idea she was even friends with Viktor Krum. I mean she's like three years younger than him."

"Yeah, she wouldn't tell anyone who she was going with," Fred said. "Ron asked her about a million times, but she wouldn't say."

"He looks right ticked," George said, "Ron, I mean. He's not even looking at her!"

"Hey, George," Maya said, apparently trying to pull his attention away from the subject of Ron and Hermione, and back to her. "Isn't that your brother?"

"Yeah, Ron? That's what I was just saying-"

"No, not Ron. I forget his name, but he graduated from Hogwarts. He's sitting up at the top table."

George looked. "What?"

"It's Percy," I said increduously, "Harry's just sat down next to him. He doesn't look exactly look thrilled..."

"What the heck is _he_ doing here?" Fred asked.

"I don't know. Crouch isn't here, though. Maybe he couldn't come, so he sent Percy," George suggested.

"Kind of hard to believe, though, seeing as the last time we saw them together, Crouch didn't even know his name."

"Oh, yeah, Weatherby Weasley," George sniggered, and they both laughed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Didn't we tell you about Percy's new boss, Angelina?" George asked.

"Oh, _yeah_," I said, starting to laugh.

"What happened?" asked Maya.

George told her, and even though the twins and I already knew the story, the four of us laughed so hard that we didn't notice that everyone had ordered until Elizabeth pointed it out.

When we'd finally sobered up and were talking the first bites of out meal, Kenneth said that he didn't really think it was all that funny, but maybe that was because of his high intelligence.

Fred remarked that he's often wondered if Percy got claimed by the wrong parents or something, and that his real name was supposed to be Weatherby _Towler._

_

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_

_Hey!_

_I'd really, really, really appreciate a review! Please! I really like to know what people think.... or even just if anyone is reading this!_

_-Julie_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Wow," George groaned, "That was amazing. Best meal I ever had, and I grew up on _Mum's _cooking."

"I know," Fred agreed, leaning back in his chair, "The house-elves really outdid themselves this time."

George gave a weak chuckle. "Better not mention that to Hermione, eh?"

"Come on, you guys," I said, tugging on Fred's arm. "Dumbledore wants to move the tables."

They both got up, but Fred immediately fell back in his chair. "I'm too full, Angelina. I can't even move," he whined.

"Well, too bad, idiot," I hissed, "I told you, Dumbledore's about to move the tables. So unless you want to get crushed against a wall, which, I have to admit, I'd like to see, only then I'd have no one to dance with, you have to _get up._"

"Fine," he said grumpily, and stood just as Dumbledore waved his wand. The tables flew to the walls of the hall, and a stage appeared.

I rolled my eyes. "You're such a baby."

"Heard it before," he grunted, "But, really, where's the fun in being _mature_?" He said it as if it was a dirty curse word.

All of the sudden, Maya gave a shriek. "Oh, Merlin! It's the Weird Sisters!"

As loud as she was, I doubt many people heard her. The whole hall had exploded with yells of delight and wild applause. The Weird Sisters entered, jumping up on the stage and grabbing the instruments that were laying on it.

I clapped excitedly, having grown up listening to them on the radio. I couldn't wait to hear them live.

The only person who didn't look excited was Kenneth Towler, but, really, what else could you expect? He went on and on about how awful they were for a while, with Patricia sort of nodding her head vaguely, and the rest of us ignoring him completely.

The champions and their partners had been led out into the middle of the hall, which was now cleared of tables. Harry looked even whiter than before. (I was starting to think he was a bit of a wimp, no matter how good of a Seeker he was.) It was painfully obvious that the girl he was dancing with was steering. Roger Davies had a dazed look on his face, and he kept tripping over Fleur's feet. She was looking kind of annoyed, but he seemed oblivious to anything except how pretty she was, leaving me to reflect that I'd never fully appreciated what a real idiot he was until that moment.

The other two pairs looked like they were having the time of their lives. Cedric Diggory was dancing with the Seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, although I couldn't for the life of me remember her name.

Standing there, watching them, I realized for the first time in a while that I could be out there, dancing with Fred, instead of them. I'd entered the Triwizard Tournament earlier this year (legally and beardlessly, unlike the twins), but the Goblet of Fire had chosen Cedric over me. It had upset me a lot at first, certainly more than I had ever told anyone. I couldn't believe that an oversized cup had decided that Pretty Boy Diggory was braver, stronger, smarter, and a better champion than me. I mean, I was a Gryffindor, wasn't I?

I got over it though, and while Cedric wasn't my favorite person in the world, I supposed I was happy for him.

More couple had joined the dance floor now. Dumbledore was dancing with Madame Maxine, and Moody with Professor Sinistra, who looked very nervous, which, I had to say, was completely understandable.

Other students had started dancing as well. Elizabeth pulled Gabriel out onto the dance floor, and Thomas asked Leanne bashfully if she wanted to dance with him.

A minute after they'd left, George looked over at Maya rather nervously, "Um, so, d'ya want to dance?"

She giggled, which I thought was rather stupid, and off they went, leaving me looking over at Fred, who said, "C'mon, then!"

I felt rather disappointed, although I didn't quite know why, but nodded anyway.

We started to make our way to the dance floor, leaving both Katie and Patricia looking rather dubiously at their dates.

We walked right past Ron, who was sitting in a sulky silence next to his date. The girl had to be Harry's date's twin, as they looked identical.

"Cheer up, Ron," Fred said cheerily, "You look like Aunt Muriel's just-"

"Shut up," Ron muttered, looking at the ground. His date rolled her eyes.

Fred just shrugged, and we kept walking.

"What were you going to say?" I asked. "Died?"

"Came for a visit," he said briskly.

I laughed. "I do feel bad for Ron though. I mean, Krum's not exactly a good rival, and those dress robes really are bloody awful."

We had reached the edge of the dance floor now, but moved no further. A very slow song was playing; I could see George and Maya swaying back and forth across the hall.

Fred stopped and laughed nervously. "If you think those are bad, you should have seen mine and George's."

"What the heck are you talking about?" I said, laughing, not altogether sure where this joke was going. "Aren't I looking at them?"

"These?" he said, fingering his plain black robes, "These are my everyday ones. You didn't notice?"

"You wore-"

"Yep," he said, unabashedly, "But really, what was I supposed to do. They were yellow, Angelina! Yellow!"

Not sure whether to be amused at the thought of yellow dress robes or horrified that I'd only narrowly escaped having a date wearing them, I just said, "So why didn't Ron do that?"

"Why doesn't Ron do anything?" Fred said, "Because he's a prat."

"You don't mean that," I said, a little distractedly, suddenly spotting Alicia dancing with Eric. Her whole face was glowing. I didn't think mine was doing that. "He's your brother."

"Exactly."

We fell into silence. My stomach was all twisted up in knots. I kept looking over at all the dancing couples. Why weren't we dancing? Did he not want to dance with me?

But he'd asked me….

"Fred-" I said finally, but just then, the song changed to a much faster one. It was an older song, one that I'd always loved, but at that moment, I didn't want to hear it.

His face, which I'd hardly realized was tense, suddenly split with relief as the notes got faster and faster. "Yeah? Let's go."

We walked past Katie and Franklin, who were now dancing. Katie had a smile on her face, it looked plastered there, fake as the Leprachaun gold. I caught her eye, and gave her a questioning look. She just shrugged.

"Merlin, this is fast," Fred said, as we started to dance, or rather, awkwardly move from side to side. We were about two feet apart, not even holding hands. "I really did eat too much."

Was he hinting that he didn't want to be out here, with me? All I said, though, was, "Yeah, you're going to be way out of shape for Quidditch next year."

"No way. I get too much exercise running from Filch."

"And McGonagall and Snape."

"Yeah, and… well, all the teachers, really, I suppose. Anyway, it won't matter," he said, grinning confidently, "I'm going to be Captain, so no one will be able to yell at me anyway, even if I started flying like Percy."

"What's Percy fly like?"

He didn't miss a beat. "Like a half-blind dragon that's just had its wings cut off."

I had to think about that for a minute. "I don't even know how to picture that."

"Like I said, he's a Towler with red hair, not a real Weasley at all. I mean, I guess Ron and Ginny aren't very good flyers, but Bill was decent, even if he never played for Gryffindor. Charlie was a star, obviously. George is identical to me, so he's naturally amazing, and I'm going to be the second Captain in the family."

That brought me back to what he'd said before. "Oh, get off it, Weasley. You'll be Captain the day Snape adopts you and George. I mean, you can't even muster up the energy to dance, and you think you can be Quidditch Captain?"

At that, he started to dance, so wildly that the couple on our left jumped back, startled.

"Now who doesn't have any energy, Angelina? You look like a sleeping flobberworm."

Laughing, I moved to imitate him, just as Harry walked past us with his date, on his way towards Ron.

The Weird Sisters played faster and faster, and soon both of us were nearly out of breath, but we kept going. Nearly a five foot ring of empty space had formed around, although the hall was rather crowded. Every one seemed wary of getting hit by one of our flailing limbs, which, I had to admit, was entirely possible.

Too bad for them.

* * *

_Hello, all!_

_Just in case anyone was wondering, I do know that Ginny is a brilliant flyer, but you have to remember that Fred didn't know that at this point. Personally, this is my favorite chapter that I've written in a while, probably since the ninth one, so I do hope you like it. Please continue to review!_

_-Julie_


	15. Chapter 15

Forever Ch. 15

Gasping for air and laughing at the same time, we danced like maniacs for three more songs, although only one of them was actually fast. It didn't matter, though, nothing mattered so long as Fred and I could keep on dancing together. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time, and that was saying something, considering that I hung around with the Weasleys.

As the song ended, though, so did the fun. Fred's eyes suddenly lit up, but he wasn't looking at me, but rather behind me. Suddenly, getting a sour taste in mouth and hoping against hope that he wasn't looking at Maya, I turned around. As soon as I had, I nearly laughed in relief. Perhaps I wasn't exactly the prettiest girl in the room, but I did reckon that Fred thought I was better looking than _McGonagall. _

But he wasn't looking at McGonagall, I realized. He was staring at Ludo Bagman, who had just finished dancing with her. I frowned, the relief I'd felt just moments before disappearing as quickly as it'd come.

My confusion increased when he turned away from me and began to scan the dance floor. "Do you see George anywhere, Angelina?"

"No," I said, although I hadn't really looked. Was he looking for Maya, then? "Fred, what-"

"There he is," he said, cutting me off, though I wasn't sure if he'd heard me at all. "George! Over here!"

George looked up, spotted Fred and I, and immediately came over to us, Maya at his heels. "What?"

"Bagman," Fred said quietly, not looking at Maya or me. "Over there."

George's eyes widened. "Let's go."

"What's going-" I started, but, again, I was cut off, this time by George.

"Fred and I have got something to take care of," George said, his eyes still on Bagman. "Why don't you two get us drinks? We'll catch up with you later."

"George-" Maya began, but they were already gone. She turned to me. "What in the name of Merlin was that about?"

"I have no idea," I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I was so frustrated with both of the twins, especially Fred. Only moments before, I'd been having the time of my life, but now...

I just felt so stupid and angry and _ugly (_I'd hadn't given a thought about what jumping around so much with Fred would do to my appearance). At least we had danced together, I supposed, but not really as a couple. We'd just been fooling around, like friends, and now it seemed as if we weren't even that. Did I even have friends anymore? Alicia was with Eric, probably having the time of her life. She hadn't even sat with us at dinner, but with the Ravenclaws. Lee was up in his dormitory, sulking because he wasn't with Alicia. Once, I'd thought he was stupid to miss the Yule Ball just because the girl he wanted to ask was going with someone else, but now I rather wished I could join him.

"Well, do you want to go get drinks, then?" Maya asked. She didn't look upset in the slightest, merely a little confused, but, then again, why should she? She and George hadn't danced like idiots._ Her_ face wasn't flushed, _her_ dress robes weren't wrinkled, and _her_ hair wasn't falling out of her tight bun, like mine was. She was pretty as ever, one hundred times prettier than me, and I hated how much I cared.

"Sure," I said, still trying to keep my voice level. It wasn't Maya's fault that the night I'd been looking forward to for weeks had turned out like this. It had barely even started, and already it was a disaster.

"I really like George," she commented as we walked towards the table with the drinks.

"Uh-huh," I said, not wanting to disagree with her, although I wasn't exactly happy with her date or his brother at the moment.

"Well, I like both of the twins, actually," she sighed, "I really can't tell one from the other yet. They're so similar, you know?"

"Not really," I said, "If you get to know them, you'll see."

"Can you tell them apart?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, but I've been friends with them for awhile," I said, privately wondering how much longer that friendship would last. "Lee and Alicia can tell them apart as well."

"They're, like, identical, though!"

"Oh, well, yes," I allowed, "Appearance-wise, I reckon they could stump their own mother, though maybe not, knowing Mrs. Weasley." I'd only met the twins' mum a few times at King's Cross, but I'd heard enough stories about her to know that she didn't miss very much.

"Then how-"

"The way they talk," I shrugged, "I dunno, I can just tell. It's a bit hard to explain..."

"How are they different, exactly?" she asked, "I mean, they both goof off in class, they're both funny..."

I thought it was a bit odd how little she knew George, considering he was her date, but I let it pass. "Fred's louder, rowdier, more creative, and, well, neither of them are _tactful,_but Fred's even more tactless than George. George is, I dunno, a bit more sensible and... nicer, I guess." Fred was more like me than George was, I thought suddenly. We had pretty similar personalities. Once, I'd thought that that was a good thing; it was partly why I'd had a crush on Fred in the first place, instead of his brother. Now, I wondered if being so similar was a good thing afterall, at least for dates.

I didn't know if he'd ever really liked me romantically, and I wasn't sure if I liked him like that anymore either.

"You're so lucky," Maya sighed, and I could barely stop myself from snorting. Me, lucky? "I had to have Elizabeth check which twin was which before I talked to him about going to the Yule Ball."

"Can she tell them apart?" I asked, though I knew the answer was no. "You looked kind of confused when you came up to us, actually."

We'd reached the table now, and were pouring punch into four cups. I looked over at the twins. They were talking with Mr. Bagman, looking almost- angry? He was shaking his head, and now had walked away from them, toward where Harry and Ron were sitting with Percy. Fred and George move, but just stood there, looking frustrated.

"She asked Lee, like, casually," Maya said, but I was hardly paying attention. "And I actually meant-"

"Angelina!" Katie Bell came running up to us, looking flustered, interrupting Maya.

"What's the matter, Katie?" I asked, noticing Franklin wasn't with her. "Need some help escaping your date?"

She shook her head, "Well, maybe, but that's not- I just saw Alicia run out of the Great Hall, and she's crying her eyes out. She wouldn't tell me what's wrong, so I thought I'd find you."

Fred, George, Ludo Bagman, my appearance, and the drinks forgotten, I rushed out into the entrance hall, Maya and Katie right behind me.

* * *

_Okay, I'm reallly, really, really sorry about how long it's taken me to update. I promise I'll try to be better. I have been writing other fanfiction, but for some reason, this chapter was hard for me to write. I must have tried to write the first paragraph about fifty times, but I just couldn't. Once I finally got those sentences written, though, the rest of it practically wrote itself. I will try to update in the next week._

_Please review, especially if you like this story enough to favourite or alert it! I never withhold chapter because of a lack of reviews, but they do help to motivate me! (And sometimes, I'll even reciprocate.)_

_-Julia_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Apparently, I wasn't the only one having a bad night. It didn't really make me feel better.

"Alicia!" I cried, rushing out into the entrance hall. She was just sitting on the floor with her head in her hands, crying, her carefully-applied make-up already smeared. "What's wrong?"

She just shook her head and sobbed. I sat down next to her and put an arm around her. Katie took a spot on Alicia's other side, and Maya just stood there, looking sympathetic but awkward.

"It's okay," I said, feeling a bit awkward myself. I knew Alicia better than practically anyone, but I wasn't the best person to go to for comfort.

"No, it bloody well isn't!" she snapped, firing up and then falling back into sobs.

"Oh, Alicia," I sighed, not knowing what to say.

"Just tell us what happened," Katie urged gently, "Maybe we can help."

"Did something happen with Eric?" I asked, wondering if the twins and Lee had been right all along. It wouldn't exactly surprise me.

Apparently thinking along the same lines, Alicia looked up at me with red eyes. "Go ahead and gloat. You were right all along." She covered her face with her hands again.

"I'm not going to gloat," I said, losing my patience a bit. I did feel bad for her, but why couldn't she just tell us what was wrong? "Come on, Alicia, please? This isn't helping anyone. Besides, you love to talk, don't you?" I grinned at her, trying to cheer her up.

She looked up at me icily and then said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "Thanks so much, Ange."

"What?" I cried, confused.

"I'm crying my eyes out over here and all my "best friend" can say is that I _love to talk_?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"You have no idea what I've been through tonight-"

"So tell me!"

"Why should I?" she glared at me, angry tears running down her cheeks.

I just looked at her, completely at a loss for what to say. She wasn't making any sense at all. I'd said one thing and she'd blown up in my face.

Then Katie spoke up. "Alicia, we all just want to help you, but we won't know how to until you tell us what happened."

"You can't help, though!" she said, turning to Katie, now seeming more desperate than angry.

Merlin, the way she was acting, you'd have thought someone had died. She needed to get a grip.

"Well, maybe not," Katie said gently, "But at least you'll have someone to talk to."

Alicia heaved a sigh, and it seemed to calm her down slightly. Looking at Katie, she started to talk, although she was still crying. "It was going fine at first; I sat with Eric and a bunch of his friends for dinner- Mason and Kr- Kristin," she gulped, then continued "Eric talked to me the whole time, asking me questions, laughing... He seemed like he really liked me." She stopped and burst into tears again.

"So-" I prompted after a few minutes.

"So," she continued, although she gave me a frown, "It was going great, until he said that I should go get some drinks for the both of us, and I did, and then, when I came back-"

She started to cry again, and it makes the next part of her story nearly incoherent. Luckily, she's not talking all that fast, "When I c-came back, Mason and Eric were standing at the edge of the dance floor. These t-two Slytherins were standing right in front of them. They were massive- the Slytherins, I mean- they looked like great big mossy rocks! So, I was trying to get around them to Eric and Mason, when I heard what they were saying."

"The Slytherins?" Katie asked, looking confused.

"Eric and Mason," she answered sadly, "The Slytherins weren't saying anything. Rocks don't talk, I suppose."

"What were they saying, then?" Maya said.

"Mason- Mason said that I was pretty, even if I was- even if I was-" she stopped, seeming to, momentarily, be unable to go on, then she steeled herself and finished in a rush, "An annoying little twit. And that wasn't even the worst of it," she said as the rest of us gasped with pity. Tears were falling fast down her face, but she went on, "And then Eric said, 'She's the most irritating I've ever met in my life. She talks too much and too fast, and I can hardly understand her half the time!' and then he told Mason that he must have poor taste, because _he_ didn't think I was all that good-looking, and then he said, 'But you know I only brought her to make Kristin jealous.'"

I remembered George saying that Kristin had turned Eric down. So this was why he'd asked Alicia to the Yule Ball. It was all just a ploy to make the girl he really liked jealous. Merlin, I hated Eric Hale. I wanted to go kill him, right then and there, but I couldn't leave Alicia. I understood why she'd gotten angry at me now, even though I really hadn't done anything wrong. I'd just said the wrong thing.

Alicia had already heard that she talked too much twice tonight. She hadn't wanted to hear it again.

"And then they saw me, and I guessed I looked pretty upset, so they knew I'd heard, and they just looked at me and laughed. They _laughed_!"

Katie patted her on the shoulder, looking like she was about to start crying. Maya sat down at last, taking a spot next to Katie. Alicia ignored both of them, turning to me, looking sad and angry at the same time.

"So I hope you're happy Angelina! You were right, about everything! Eric_ is_ a complete-" a sobbed obscured the next word, but I got the picture, "And I _do _talk too much, and I suppose you've just been putting up with me for years!"

"Alicia," I said, "I'm so sorry. I swear, I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I know I'd be bored out of my mind if I didn't have you to talk my ear off. You're my best friend! You're easy to talk to and funny and nice and-"

"Good at Quidditch," Katie interjected, grinning at her. "A very cool person."

"Pretty," put in Maya.

"And smart as a freaking whip," I finished. "And if Eric can't see that-"

"You're exaggerating," she sighed, and maybe we were. She wasn't perfect. She could be a little self-centered, a little too focused on outward appearances. That was, I thought, one of the reasons she'd liked Eric, instead of someone like Lee. She wasn't hilariously funny, either, like the twins were, or the top of the class, like Patricia Stimpson. It didn't matter. She was Alicia Spinnet, my best friend, and she certainly deserved better than Eric Hale.

"Kristin's prettier," she said, "And funnier, and she's a Ravenclaw, so she must be smarter."

"That's not true," I scoffed. "Merlin! You're not perfect, Alicia, it's true, but neither is she!"

"And I'm really not that nice," she whispered, "I yelled at you for no reason at all-"

"You were upset," I rolled my eyes, "It's fine."

"No, it's really not," she said, "I'm a terrible friend. Lee was right. Eric and I deserved each other, and I deserved exactly what I got for going with him."

"That doesn't even make sense-" Katie started.

"Lee, Fred, George, and even Ange, sort of, told me he was no good, but I didn't listen. Eric was good-looking and he asked me to the ball, and that was really all I cared about."

She was getting louder now, yelling through her sobs.

"That's not true," I argued, and it wasn't, not completely. "You didn't really know-"

"But I should have," she insisted, "Even now, when I know what he did, know what he is, there's a part of me that still wants to be with him, no matter how much of a jerk he is! And I hate that!"

"Alicia, calm down, it'll all be okay," I tried. I really didn't know what to say...

"No, it won't. Eric's a jerk and he's not my boyfriend and Lee hates me."

"He doesn't hate you-"

"Yes, he does. I can't blame him, either. I chose having Eric as a date over his friendship, and now I've lost both of them."

"Alicia, Lee-" I wanted to tell her the real reason Lee was so upset, but she didn't give me the chance.

"He was one of my best friends and now he doesn't give a damn thing about me. He didn't get me a Christmas present. He won't look at me, won't talk to me and I MISS HIM LIKE HELL!"

"Alright," I said, knowing what I had to do now, and began to walk away from the three of them, towards the stairs. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" asked Katie, her eyes wide. I've almost forgotten she and Maya were there.

"Gryffindor Tower," I replied. "I've got to go find someone."

* * *

Hey all!

Told you I'd update soon this time! The Slytherins mentioned are Crabbe and Goyle, by the way, if you didn't catch that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but I'd love a review from you even if you didn't.

-Julia


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I ran up to my dormitory first, rummaging through my trunk until I found what I needed. Then I ran over to the boys' dormitories and knocked hard on the sixth years' door. There was no answer, so, slamming it open, I went right in.

Predictably, Lee was sitting in a crumpled heap on his bed, staring at the floor.

"Hey, Lee," I said briskly, going over to him. "Snap out of it."

He looked up but didn't meet my eyes. "What do you want, Angelina?"

"I want you to come down to - "

"Forget it," he said flatly, cutting me off. "The twins already tried. I'm not budging from this spot."

"The twins botch everything up," I told him. "I'll get you to come down. You'll see."

He just rolled his eyes at me went back to staring at the floor. "Go back to Fred and leave me alone."

"Shut up and listen. You're being such a baby. I mean - look, Lee - I know. Okay? I know."

He said nothing, but I could tell he was listening.

"You like Alicia," I said. "And don't even bother denying it because we really don't have time for that."

He seemed to struggle for a minute with what to say. "What are you - that's - of course no - "

"Didn't I tell you not to deny it? You wanted to ask her to the ball and Eric beat you to it. And I am sorry about that - really. It totally sucks, but moping around isn't going to help anything."

Lee gave a false laugh. "Ange, you've got it all wrong. Alicia and I are just friends. I was just mad because she's dating such a jerk - "

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "We both know you're lying, but it really doesn't matter. The point is that you can't keep moping around up here. Alicia needs you."

He went very still. "What?"

"I mean that you were right - well, so I was, sort of - but, anyway, Eric is a complete - "

Lee offered a suitable noun.

I nodded. "And now she's upset."

He sat up. "Wait, what?"

"Eric only asked Alicia out to make Kristin Doyle jealous."

Lee swore. "I told you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but he's not the only one that hurt her," I said. "She's been really cut up about you ignoring her. She cried when she realised you didn't get her anything for Christmas. I mean, I don't want to get your hopes up or anything. I dunno if she'll ever see you as anything more than a friend, but I _know_ she needs you."

"Angelina, I really don't - "

"Save it for someone who'll believe it," I said. "Which is probably only Alicia."

"I did get her something for Christmas, though," he mumbled.

"I know," I handed him the necklace. "I repaired it for you."

"How did you - "

"I saw you last night. Now go get ready, Lee."

"I never said I was coming."

"Oh, really?" I asked him sarcastically. "You're going to let Alicia sit down there and cry?"

He shoved me out into the corridor and shut the door. "I hate you, Johnson."

I grinned. "Told you I'd get you to come."

He didn't answer, but emerged a minute later with his dress robes on. "You remind me a lot of Fred, sometimes, you know that?"

"Is that supposed to me a compliment or an insult?"

He shrugged as we started down the stairs. "I dunno. You're both stubborn, kind of annoying, total busybodies. Never shut your mouths..."

I scowled at him. "I don't think - "

He interrupted me. "Damn, I just remembered - I have to go get something."

"What?"

He didn't answer me; having already started running back to his dormitory.

"Lee, if you're going back to moping, I swear I'll - "

"Merlin's pants, Angelina, no need to get your knickers in a twist," Lee said, turning around, already halfway up the stairs. "I just have to get something for, well, Hale."

"What, did you get him a Christmas present?" I joked, but he didn't elaborate further, instead continuing up the stairs. A minute later he returned with a small parcel, and thrust it into my hands.

"Here - it's a regift, actually," Lee said, and then, seeing my confusion, added, "From Fred and George."

"Oh," I groaned, finally catching on.

"Got there?" he smirked. "You always were a bit slow..."

"Shut it," I told him. "What is it, exactly, though?"

"The twins can explain," Lee said, walking faster. "I want to see how Alicia is." He looked over at me in blushed faintly. "Not that - "

"I already told you there was no point in denying it."

* * *

The entrance hall was very much like I had left it - Alicia was still crying, Katie was still sitting next to her, and Maya was still standing above them.

It had gotten louder, though, because the twins had now joined the attempt to comfort Alicia.

" - then we'll lock him in a room with fifty Dungbombs - "

" - and Snape - "

" - plus whatever monster Hagrid's currently in love with - "

" - add to that Percy, being his wonderful prattish self - "

Alicia gave a dry sob.

"Fred, George - shut up," I commanded. "Alicia, look who I brought down to see you."

She lifted her head up from her knees, her eyes instantly lighting up at the sight of him. "_Lee_?"

He gave a wane smile. "Uh - yeah."

"Your artful oratory skills confound us all," Fred said gleefully, walking over to his best friend and pounding him on the back.

"Good to see you've joined the world of the living again, mate," George grinned at Lee.

Lee gave them both a glare, which only served to make them more pleased with themselves.

"Well, we'll let you two catch up," I said, and Alicia gave me a watery smile. "C'mon, Fred and George, we've got work to do. Maya and Katie - you can help too, if you like."

"I've been looking for you, my lovely," Fred said as the four of them followed me up a flight of stairs and into an empty classroom.

"Missed me?" I grumbled. "What were telling Alicia, by the way?"

"Just explaining what we're going to do to get back at Hale," George answered.

"In theory," Fred sighed, "Though I can't tell you how much I'd love to put old Snape and Percy in a room with Dungbombs and mad creatures and some sort of being that was a cross between Hermione Granger and Lord Voldemort... think you missed that one..."

"I did," I groaned. "Thank Merlin you filled me in. It would have been terrible to have missed having that image in my mind - "

"You have to admit, it'd be the worst thing ever, though," Fred said earnestly, "I mean - annoying _and_ evil, bushy-haired _and _noseless, obsessed with House-Elf Liberation_ and _the mass killing of Muggle-borns..."

"You really seem to have thought this through," I told him wearily.

He gave me a wicked grin, "Oh you have no idea - "

"You've got a sick mind, Weasley."

Maya was staring at the two of us. "Okay, no offense, but you two are the _strangest_ couple I've ever seen."

Katie shook her head. "Uh-uh. That's definitely me and Franklin. Who I should probably go find, actually..." She sighed, but didn't move.

"No," Fred and I said together. "It's definitely us."

"Okay," George rolled his eyes. "Can we get back on task here? What exactly are we supposed to be doing, Angelina?"

"Getting revenge on Hale," I told them. Fred opened his mouth and I cut him off. "Nope."

"I didn't even say anything yet!" he protested.

"I don't care. The answer's still no."

* * *

_I'd forgotten how much fun Angelina and the twins are to write. Sorry for the long delay (again!), but I think updates will be quicker now. I know I've been promising that for a while, but it's summer now, and I have been writing a lot of Harry Potter fanfic lately, just not on this piece. So... I'll try to get Chapter 18 up ASAP, 'kay?_

_Please review!_


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